Department for Transport

Public Transport

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is he taking to improve public transport to provide an incentive to stop driving and lower emissions.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools that local authorities need to improve local bus services. It allows Mayoral Combined Authorities to franchise bus services and local authorities to develop partnerships with bus operators to take the actions which they’ve identified locally to incentivise uptake of public transport. Bus Open Data powers in the Act will require bus operators in England to open up information about routes, timetables, fares and tickets in real time for passengers by 2020. These improvements aim to improve journey planning and help passengers secure best value tickets. The Government is also investing record levels in the U.K. rail network, as part of the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century

Road Traffic Offences: British Nationals Abroad

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support is available to UK nationals accused of (a) driving offences and (b) exceeding the speed limits when driving their UK-registered vehicles in (i) France, (ii) the European Union and (iii) the rest of the world.

Michael Ellis: All drivers should adhere to the local traffic laws, wherever they drive. EU countries are able to request vehicle keeper data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to prosecute British citizens for certain traffic offences under the Cross Border Enforcement Directive. There is information available to drivers about driving abroad on www.gov.uk. Organisations such as RAC and AA also provide information on their websites.

Road Traffic Offences: British Nationals Abroad

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British citizens have been accused of (a) driving offences and (b) exceeding the speed limit when driving their UK-registered vehicle in (i) France, (ii) the European Union and (iii) the rest of the world in each of the last three years.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British names and addresses were handed over to the French authorities by the DVLA in 2018 in response to accusations of driving offences in France.

Michael Ellis: The number of sets of vehicle keeper data released by the DVLA following alleged motoring offences can be found in the table below. The DVLA first started receiving live requests for vehicle data from France in January 2019.  FranceEU (including France)Speeding OffencesOther Driving OffencesSpeeding OffencesOther Driving Offences2017--80,5952,5582018--237,17222,9062019239,7461,721362,0978,435 Between 2015 and 2017, 466 requests for information were received from outside of the EU for road traffic offences. Figures are not yet available for 2018.

Road Traffic Offences: British Nationals Abroad

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK nationals driving their UK-registered vehicles abroad are provided with necessary legal resources to challenge driving offence charges issued against them.

Michael Ellis: The information requested is not held. All drivers should adhere to the local traffic laws, wherever they drive. There is information available to drivers about driving abroad on www.gov.uk.

Eurotunnel

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his legal settlement with Eurotunnel cost in (a) VAT and (b) departmental officials' time.

Chris Grayling: The VAT paid on the legal fees for the litigation associated with the Eurotunnel settlement was around £200,000, subject to final checks being made on legal costs incurred. Given the interrelated nature of the litigation and the settlement, a discrete figure for the settlement only aspects is not available. The Department did incur costs associated with officials’ time, but these are not accounted for separately, so the Department does not hold that information.

Network Rail: Property

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether section 14 of the Railway Regulation Act 1842 is used by Network Rail to gain access to tenanted railway arch premises.

Andrew Jones: It is not standard practice for Network Rail to use section 14 to obtain access to tenanted railway arches. Network Rail has obtained access to a tenanted archway once in the last five years in order to maintain the integrity and safety of the railway.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Network Rail's planned maintenance on the rail network in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones: It is a matter for the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), to assess the effectiveness of NR’s maintenance activity and its impact on the performance of the rail network. ORR reports every six months on its assessment of how Network Rail is performing in the “Network Rail Monitor”, which is available on the ORR’s website at ORR.gov.uk.

Roads: Construction

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and which local authorities were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements by (a) his Department and (b) Highways England as part of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway project.

Michael Ellis: Confidentiality Agreements are used to protect both Highways England’s information and the information of the other signatory party and are in accordance with typical business practice. Confidentiality Agreements help to avoid placing homes and businesses in unnecessary blight and protect commercially sensitive information and the personal information of those potentially affected by any proposed changes. Highways England does not discuss the existence or otherwise of specific arrangements. The Department for Transport has not asked any local authorities to sign a Confidentiality Agreement in relation to this project. Both the Department and Highways England will continue to work closely with all local authorities and other stakeholders in the development of the expressway and a full public consultation is planned for later this year.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Broxtowe

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on the economy in Broxtowe of the proposed route for HS2.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Whilst no specific assessment of the effect of HS2 on the economy of Broxtowe has taken place, I am aware that the East Midlands HS2 Growth Strategy, published by East Midlands Councils, reports that HS2 has the potential to deliver an additional 74,000 jobs and £4bn of Gross Value Added to East Midlands region by 2043.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Broxtowe

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of the cost of constructing a bored tunnel beneath Broxtowe for High Speed Two.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 Ltd has considered a number of tunnel options in the East Midlands Hub area including those set out in the Working Draft Environmental Statement Alternatives Report. However, tunnel options in this area have not been progressed due to the significant length of the tunnel, significant cost impacts and flood risk. HS2 Ltd will continue to work with the local community to minimise the impact of HS2, including appropriate mitigation where necessary.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Toton

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of the costs of constructing an underground High Speed Two East Midlands hub station at Toton Sidings.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Some of the tunnel options that have been looked at in the East Midlands Hub area included variants of a station, both at grade and below ground. Tunnel options in this area have not been progressed due to the significant length of the tunnel, significant cost impacts and flood risk. HS2 Ltd continues to refine the station design, taking into consideration the environment, cost and views of local stakeholders. The current station proposal has been well received by local leaders across the region.

Network Rail: Finance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding the Government has allocated to Network Rail in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Andrew Jones: Funding for the railway in Scotland is devolved to the Scottish Government, who have responsibility for setting funding and outputs. The Office of Rail and Road’s final determination includes Network Rail’s outputs and funding for 2014-2019 (CP5) for both England and Wales and Scotland.https://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/452/pr13-final-determination.pdf Network Rail does not operate in Northern Ireland.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of each type of repair to Network Rail railway lines have been carried out in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Andrew Jones: The tables attached sets out track renewals on the network by type over the past five years for England & Wales and Scotland. Network Rail does not operate in Northern Ireland.



Tables regarding track renewals
(Word Document, 18.58 KB)

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to tackle emissions from aviation.

Michael Ellis: The Government recognises that climate change is one of the most urgent and pressing challenges we face and we are working to ensure the UK takes a leading role in tackling it. On 12 June 2019, the Government announced a 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions target for the UK. This announcement shows the UK’s steadfast commitment to tackling climate change and we recognise that aviation has a crucial part to play. The UK will continue to lead the way to secure a solution which reflects the truly international nature of these sectors. It is vital that we find an answer that does not simply displace emissions elsewhere across the world. We will continue to provide for international aviation and shipping emissions as we do now via headroom within our existing carbon budgets. We are minded to include these targets in legislation subject to future discussions in the International Maritime Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization. The Government will propose a long-term vision for UK aviation carbon emissions reduction and a pathway to achieve this by 2050 in its Aviation 2050 white paper due to be published later this year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Renewable Energy

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he will take to ensure that the decarbonisation of the power sector continues in line with the UK’s long term climate change targets.

Chris Skidmore: This Government has been successful in decarbonising the power sector, as demonstrated by the fact that low-carbon technologies now provide over 50% of our power. As a result, the carbon intensity of the power sector has nearly halved over recent years, from 450g CO2/kWh in 2010 to 230g CO2/kWh in 2017.The Clean Growth Strategy set out our plans to build on our progress in decarbonising the power sector, while looking further across the whole of the economy and the country. It includes ambitious proposals on housing, business, transport, the natural environment and green finance, with actions for departments across Whitehall. We have also we placed Clean Growth at the heart of our Industrial Strategy and made it one of four Grand Challenges to show our commitment to reduce our emissions whilst driving cleaner economic growth.

Business: Billing

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the Prompt Payment Code compulsory for large businesses.

Kelly Tolhurst: In the recent Government Response to the Creating a Responsible Payment Culture Call for Evidence we announced that responsibility for the voluntary Prompt Payment Code (the ‘Code’) is to move to the Small Business Commissioner and that the Code will be reformed, following engagement with existing Code signatories. Turning a voluntary code into a compulsory code would be further legislation respect of payment terms. UK legislation already establishes maximum 30-day payment terms for transactions with public authorities and 60-day payment terms between businesses, unless they agree longer terms and those terms are not grossly unfair to the supplier. Government has worked closely with trade bodies and businesses to develop this. Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said of the recent announcement: “Small businesses will be delighted with today’s announcement” and “the measures today could finally see an end to poor payment practice. Changing our business culture will boost the small business community, productivity and growth.”

Business: Billing

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 	what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the maximum payment terms of the Prompt Payment Code from 60 days to 30 days.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Prompt Payment Code (‘the Code’) encourages businesses to aim for 30-day payment terms as the norm, with 60 days as the maximum. Signatories commit to paying 95% of invoices within 60 days, unless there are exceptional circumstances. In the recent Government Response to the Creating a Responsible Payment Culture Call for Evidence we announced that responsibility for the Code is to move to the Small Business Commissioner and that the Code will be reformed, following engagement with existing Code signatories. We are also keen to increase the number of businesses signed up to the Code. UK legislation already establishes maximum 30-day payment terms for transactions with public authorities and 60-day payment terms between businesses, unless they agree longer terms and those terms are not grossly unfair to the supplier. Government has worked closely with trade bodies and businesses to develop this. Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said of the recent announcement: “Small businesses will be delighted with today’s announcement” and “the measures today could finally see an end to poor payment practice. Changing our business culture will boost the small business community, productivity and growth.”

Small Businesses: Billing

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how he plans to define late payments that the Small Business Commissioner will enforce.

Kelly Tolhurst: Within the Small Business Commissioner’s (the Commissioner) remit to tackle late payment and help drive culture change in private sector payment practices, the Commissioner addresses small business complaints about their larger customers. The Commissioner will make non-binding recommendations as to how the issues could be resolved, remedied and mitigated. Further detail of the Commissioner’s complaints handling scheme is set out in the Small Business Commissioner (Scope & Scheme) Regulations 2017. I announced in the recent Government Response to the Call for Evidence on Creating a Responsible Payment Culture that we will consult on strengthening the Commissioner’s ability to assist and advocate for small businesses in the area of late payments. Government has worked closely with trade bodies and businesses to develop this. Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said of the recent announcement: “Small businesses will be delighted with today’s announcement” and “the measures today could finally see an end to poor payment practice. Changing our business culture will boost the small business community, productivity and growth.”

Business: Billing

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what evidence base the Government used in reaching the decision to provide a £1 million business fund for the use of technology to help reduce late payments.

Kelly Tolhurst: A £9 million Business Basics Programme was announced in the Industrial Strategy, to test innovative ways of encouraging SMEs to take up the proven technology and business practices that can boost productivity. I announced in the recent Government Response to the Call for Evidence on Creating a Responsible Payment Culture that, as part of that Programme, we will launch a Business Basics fund competition up to £1 million. This will provide funding to trial how to get businesses to take up proven technology and business practices, including a focus on payment technology. Government has worked closely with trade bodies and businesses to develop this. Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said of the recent announcement: “Small businesses will be delighted with today’s announcement” and “the measures today could finally see an end to poor payment practice. Changing our business culture will boost the small business community, productivity and growth.”

Business: Billing

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the £1 million technology fund for businesses on the issue of late payments.

Kelly Tolhurst: Technology adoption can boost productivity in the UK. The £9 million Business Basics Programme was announced in the Industrial Strategy, to test innovative ways of encouraging SMEs to take up the proven technology and business practices that can boost productivity. Government believes there is also a role for the Commissioner to run a campaign to promote technological solutions to SMEs to reduce late payment, improve cash flow and encourage better credit management. This fits with the Commissioner’s role in offering advice and guidance on payment matters to SMEs. It is envisaged that this combined approach will improve awareness of the use of technology and begin to make inroads to improve administrative processes that underpin business operations such as streamlining invoicing, payment and credit management, ultimately making payment practices more efficient and businesses more productive. Government has worked closely with trade bodies and businesses to develop this. Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said of the recent announcement: “Small businesses will be delighted with today’s announcement” and “the measures today could finally see an end to poor payment practice. Changing our business culture will boost the small business community, productivity and growth.”

Business: Billing

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 	with reference to page seven of the Government's response to the paper entitled, Creating a responsible payment culture: a call for evidence on tackling late payment, what the evidential basis is for the statement there was no real consensus, either with regard to the extent of the issue itself or what the best solution to the problem is.

Kelly Tolhurst: We received 283 responses and respondents expressed a wide range of views in relation to payment practices and experiences. From the wide-ranging evidence provided it is clear there is no ‘magic bullet’ solution. That is why are taking action with a broad package of policy measures to tackle late payments and continue to change culture. Government has worked closely with trade bodies and businesses to develop this. Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said of the recent announcement: “Small businesses will be delighted with today’s announcement” and “the measures today could finally see an end to poor payment practice. Changing our business culture will boost the small business community, productivity and growth.”

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting the UK car industry through the Government's transition to zero emissions policy.

Andrew Stephenson: BEIS Ministers regularly engage with their counterparts in other departments on clean growth matters including ultra low and zero emission vehicle policy. We set out in our Road to Zero strategy published last year our mission to put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles and for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040. The Government’s has also committed £1 billion with industry to 2023 through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), to research, develop and commercialise the next generation of low carbon technologies and £274 million committed by Government to the Faraday Battery Challenge to support the design, development and manufacture of electric batteries. Our Future of Mobility 2040 mission is ambitious but achievable and we believe it is a key part of the answer to our long term transport air quality and greenhouse gas issues. It puts us at the forefront of the global transition to zero emission vehicles. We have consulted extensively with stakeholders across numerous sectors including environmental groups, the automotive industry and other experts, and believe we have identified the right balance between our environmental ambitions and deliverability, giving consumers and industry time to transition. The Government is committed to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles, which can cut carbon, reduce air pollution and help us grow the economy as part of our Industrial Strategy.

Post Offices: Bank Services

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much and what proportion of fees paid by banks to the Post Office Limited have been paid to sub-postmasters in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK; this is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.The Government welcomes the development of banking services at post offices and the recently announced increased fees for postmasters. Payments to the Post Office and to postmasters under the Banking Framework agreement are commercially confidential and cannot be publicly disclosed.

Flexible Working: Carers and Mothers

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that (a) mothers and (b) people with primary care responsibilities have access to flexible working.

Kelly Tolhurst: The 2014 revision to the Right to Request Flexible Working provided all employees with the same access to flexible working, seeking to eliminate the view that flexible working is only for parents/carers. The Government is keen to ensure that the existing “right to request” legislation continues to have the desired effect and has committed to review its impact in 2020. Government has also announced that it will consult on asking employers to consider whether a job can be done flexibly, and to make that clear when advertising. In parallel, the Government is looking to work with employers on a voluntary basis. We have established a Flexible Working Taskforce with representatives from across Whitehall, from key organisations like Carers UK and Working Families, the TUC and key business groups to promote wider understanding and implementation of flexible working practices.

Employment: Pregnancy

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that employers meet their legal obligations to pregnant employees.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what action will be taken against employers who do not meet their legal obligations to pregnant employees.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government has taken a number of steps to increase employers’ awareness of their legal obligations to pregnant employees. This has included working with ACAS to develop comprehensive advice and guidance and updating the content on the GOV.UK website. The Government’s recent consultation on pregnancy and maternity discrimination also asked how effective the current approach is in helping employees and employers to understand their rights and obligations. We will be publishing the Government response in due course.The Equality Advisory and Support Service advises and assists individuals on issues relating to equality and human rights, across England, Scotland and Wales. Where an employer fails to meet its obligations, a pregnant employee can seek redress through an employment tribunal.

Construction: Musculoskeletal Disorders

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of joint and muscle ill health on the construction industry.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government has not conducted an assessment on the effect of joint and muscle ill health in the construction industry. The firms within the construction sector are best placed to conduct their own assessments to develop a better occupational health model for the industry.

Intellectual Property: Music

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to reform the process of registering an artist or band’s name with the Intellectual Property Office so that evidence is required before an artist or band name can be formally registered.

Chris Skidmore: The UK’s intellectual property framework is under constant review to ensure it works for both right holders and users and continues to be a stimulus for innovation and growth. Where an application is made to register an artist or band’s name as a trade mark, the application is examined by the Intellectual Property Office in accordance with the Trade Mark Act 1994 and Rules 2008. Some requirements are essential in order to obtain a filing date. This includes the full name and address of the applicant (who becomes the ‘proprietor’ once the mark is registered) as it is an essential requirement for filing an application. The name of the applicant must be a correct legal name (particularly in the case of companies) and not a trading name or style. For trade mark applications which include the name of a famous individual or group, Section 3(6) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 will be considered. Section 3(6) of the Act states that a trade mark shall not be registered if or to the extent that the application is made in bad faith. Anyone can oppose the registration of a trade mark during the application process, once it has been published following examination. If a third party believes that an application has been filed in bad faith - where, for example, facts not visible or apparent to the examiner are known by that third party - then an opposition can be filed on that basis, prior to the mark being registered. The requirement for evidence exists at this stage. This opposition procedure provides a robust mechanism for all parties to submit detailed submissions and evidence.

Trade Marks: Fraud

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to prevent individuals and companies from fraudulently registering trademarks with the Intellectual Property Office.

Chris Skidmore: The Intellectual Property Office has a comprehensive procedure in place with regards to the registration of trade marks and examines every application in accordance with the Trade Mark Act 1994 and Rules 2008 to make sure that it meets the requirements for filing. Section 3(6) of the Act states that a trade mark shall not be registered if or to the extent that the application is made in bad faith. Anyone can oppose the registration of a trade mark during the application process, once it has been published. Therefore, if a third party believes that an application has been filed in bad faith then an opposition can be filed on that basis, prior to the mark being registered. Opposition can be made through the Intellectual Property Office’s low-cost tribunal service. This provides a robust mechanism for all parties to submit detailed submissions and evidence in order to resolve any dispute that has arisen regarding ownership of a particular name. A similar mechanism is in place following the registration of a mark, via the ability for third parties to apply for the invalidation of a trade mark.

Domestic Appliances: Electrical Safety

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that second-hand electrical products sold online meet the relevant safety standards.

Kelly Tolhurst: Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 any distributor, including those selling second-hand goods online, must act with due care to ensure that electrical products are safe. The Government recognises the challenge in applying and enforcing legislation to online sales, where consumers can import goods directly from outside the UK. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) was set up, in part, to meet the evolving challenges of product safety by responding to the increasing rate of product innovation, the growth in online shopping and expanding international trade. OPSS is gathering evidence on the online sales of second-hand electrical goods and the prevalence of these sales. It will use this information to provide advice to consumers and to sellers of goods about their responsibilities when selling or buying second-hand electrical goods online.

Energy: Debts

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to include increased protections for indebted customers of failed energy suppliers in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.

Chris Skidmore: Ofgem, in its supplier licensing review, is considering options to improve the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) experience for consumers, including protections for those in debt with the failed supplier. As part of the Future Energy Retail Market Review, a joint review with Ofgem, we are considering how to ensure consumers are appropriately protected in the future.

Energy

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to minimise the cost to consumers affected by energy suppliers that cease trading.

Chris Skidmore: Ofgem, through the the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process, works to minimise the financial impact when customers are moved away from a failed supplier. It is for Ofgem, as expert regulator, to scrutinise the costs and consider any claim on the industry levy. In some instances the new supplier has absorbed all the costs of taking on customers. In order to ensure consumers are protected in an evolving market, Ofgem is reviewing their approach to licensing, and considering options to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the SoLR process.

Employment Agencies: Vetting

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with employment agencies on the practice of blacklisting.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of blacklisting by employment agencies.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government takes blacklisting extremely seriously. Blacklisting is completely unacceptable and has no place in modern employment relations. The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 make it unlawful for an individual or organisation to compile, sell or make use of a blacklist of trade union members or those who have taken part in trade union activities. The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with employment agencies on this matter and no assessment has been made of the prevalence of blacklisting by employment agencies. However, since the introduction of the 2010 regulations, no evidence has been presented to the Government or the Information Commissioner that these practices are recurring, whether this be in employment agencies or elsewhere.

Bereavement Leave: Parents

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to introduce a statutory right to paid leave for bereaved parents who experience ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage.

Kelly Tolhurst: The loss of a child, including the loss of a pregnancy, is devastating for parents. The Department is currently working to implement a new statutory right to Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay for eligible parents who lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a still-birth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. We expect the new right will apply from April 2020. The policy provides a statutory minimum and we encourage employers to go beyond this where possible. Many employers will have an existing compassionate leave policy or will operate one on a discretionary basis following such losses during pregnancy. We strongly encourage employers to be sensitive and considerate at such a time.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s Judgement of 19 June 2014 to protect the rights of religious minorities in the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: At the UN Periodic Review of Pakistan's human rights record in November 2017, the UK called on Pakistan to strengthen protection of minorities and establish an independent National Commission for Minorities. We regularly raise our concerns about discrimination against minority communities with the Pakistan Government at a senior level. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about protection of minority religious communities with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, during his visit to Islamabad in February 2019. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, and to uphold the rule of law.Through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to combat intolerance and encourage respect amongst individuals of different faiths and beliefs through education. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic support his Department has provided to the Federal Government of Pakistan to (a) establish a taskforce to develop a strategy to promote religious tolerance and (b) develop a curricula at schools and colleges that promotes a culture of religious and social tolerance.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Department for International Development (DFID)'s AAWAZ II Accountability, Inclusion and Reducing Modern Slavery Programme works with communities in Pakistan to promote rights of children, women, youth and religious minorities, protect them from exploitation, prevent discrimination and intolerance. This £39.5m programme, due to run from 2018 to 2024, will build on AAWAZ I. It will also build capacity of targeted government institutions.Since 2008, responsibility to develop curriculum and textbooks has been devolved to provinces in Pakistan (with the Federal Government having some oversight but very little role in implementation). DFID has assisted the provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to revise specific textbooks to align them with the 2006 national curriculum, which is a substantial improvement in terms of inclusion and tolerance from the previous curriculum. DFID technical assistance provided to both provincial governments is increasing the capability and capacity of the Curriculum and Textbook Boards to review textbooks, including on the systems and standards necessary to identify and remove discriminatory content. We are also supporting education for children from minority communities and funding training for 100,000 teachers on inclusion.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department provides to the Government of Pakistan in response to Pakistan’s Supreme Court Judgment of 2014 to establish a National Council on the safeguarding and protection of the rights of religious minorities.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​At the UN Periodic Review of Pakistan's human rights record in November 2017, the UK called on Pakistan to strengthen protection of minorities and establish an independent National Commission for Minorities. We regularly raise our concerns about discrimination against minority communities with the Pakistan Government at a senior level. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about protection of minority religious communities with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, during his visit to Islamabad in February 2019. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, and to uphold the rule of law.Through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to combat intolerance and encourage respect amongst individuals of different faiths and beliefs through education. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.

Intelligence Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on intelligence sharing between the UK and EU of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Sir Alan Duncan: Intelligence sharing between the British Government and overseas partners is important to the security of our country. The Government's vision for a security partnership with the European Union is set out in the White Paper: "The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union" (July 2018). This includes a proposal for continued information and intelligence sharing, for example through the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre, European Union Satellite Centre and EU Military Staff. It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment in detail on intelligence matters.

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking in response to the Court of Appeal's ruling on the legality of British sales of arms to Saudi Arabia.

Sir Alan Duncan: The decision did not state that arms sale were illegal. It stated that one aspect of the decision-making process was inadequate. The Government disagrees with the judgment and has sought permission to appeal. In the meantime, we are carefully considering the implications of the judgment for decision-making. Whilst we do this we will not grant any new licences to Saudi Arabia or other coalition partners for exports of items that might be used in the conflict in Yemen.

GCHQ: Staff

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the criteria are for exclusion on medical grounds for recruits to GCHQ.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​No applicant who passed the selection tests to work at GCHQ would be barred from entry on the basis of health grounds, mental or physical, unless their condition made it impossible for the member of staff to work safely and securely even after reasonable adjustments.

Canada: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the Quebec Government on Bill 21 on the wearing of religious symbols by public officials at work.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Quebec has a democratically elected government that makes its own decisions on such matters. It would be inappropriate for the British Government to seek to influence Quebec's internal affairs.

Cyprus: Peace Negotiations

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart to support the inclusion of the town of Morphou in the territory forming the Greek Cypriot side of any bizonal arrangement in Cyprus in an agreed negotiated settlement for the island.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK is a strong supporter of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Cyprus issue, based on the internationally accepted model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. We therefore support consultations on settlement under the Secretary General's auspices through dialogue with the UN and regular engagement with leaders from all parties. We encourage all sides to engage constructively and demonstrate genuine commitment to making progress. Ultimately, the question of Morphou is a matter for the two Leaders and the communities they represent to address as part of a comprehensive settlement. It is not for the UK to seek to become a party to the discussions beyond our obligations as a guarantor power, however we continue to support the two Leaders' attempts to achieve progress.

Cyprus: Peace Negotiations

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart in pursuance of a negotiated settlement in Cyprus to stop the extensive building in the town of Morphou.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK is a strong supporter of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Cyprus issue, based on the internationally accepted model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. We therefore support consultations on settlement under the Secretary General's auspices through dialogue with the UN and regular engagement with leaders from all parties. We encourage all sides to engage constructively and demonstrate genuine commitment to making progress. Ultimately, the question of Morphou is a matter for the two Leaders and the communities they represent to address as part of a comprehensive settlement. It is not for the UK to seek to become a party to the discussions beyond our obligations as a guarantor power, however we continue to support the two Leaders' attempts to achieve progress.

Northern Cyprus: Missing Persons

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart to ask for the Cyprus Committee on Missing Persons to have access to all military areas in Turkish-controlled Cyprus, in order to carry out their work.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK fully supports calls by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers for Turkey to provide the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) with unhindered access to all possible burial sites. We encourage all relevant parties to share geographical information of where incidents may have happened to enable the CMP to identify potential burial sites.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Ministers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the transparency data entitled Cabinet Office ministerial meetings January to March 2019, published on 21 June 2019, if he will publish the (a) organisations and (b) individuals that attended (i) Roundtable discussion on Digital Transformation in Government on 12 February 2019; (ii) Roundtable on digital innovation in government on 17 January 2019; (iii) Discussion on Strategic Approach to Public Appointments on 21 January 2019; (iv) Roundtable on digital innovation in government, 24 January 2019; (v) Discussion of ongoing Civil Service Compensation scheme negotiations on 28 January 2019; (vi) Discussion on Strategic Approach to Public Appointments on 28 January 2019; (vii) Discussion of ongoing Civil Service Compensation scheme negotiations on 6 February 2019; (viii) Discussion on Public Appointments Events on 6 February 2019; (ix) Roundtable discussion on Workforce issues across the Public Sector on 12 February 2019; (x) Discussion on government outsourcing and innovation on 12 February 2019; (xi) Discussion on the work of the Government Digital Service on 19 February 2019; (xii) Discussion on Digital Accessibility on 19 February 2019; and (xiii) Discussion on Govtech and digital innovation in government on 26 February 2019.

Oliver Dowden: Ministers regularly meet with a large number of external stakeholders as part of their normal duties.The information on attendees at meetings as set out in the transparency data publication of 21 June 2019 is proportionate to the nature and depth of the engagement. In line with this approach we do not always publish lists of every attendee at larger roundtables and instead provide a general description of who was present and the names of the host organisation(s) where applicable.Meetings (i), (ii), (iv) and (xiii) fall into this category. Meetings (i) and (xiii) were roundtables organised and hosted by third party organisations to which I was invited and actively contributed as a guest. Meetings (ii) and (iv) were roundtables organised by the Government Digital Service with the support of host organisations. A more detailed overview of the attendees at these roundtables is now set out below based upon records of who was invited; this may differ slightly from who attended on the day.For meetings (iii), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi) and (xii), the published data already provides the name of every organisation(s) or individual(s) who attended the meetings.Meeting (i) - Roundtable discussion on Digital Transformation in Government on 12 February 2019The SpectatorTechUKGlobal Sourcing Association UKAmazon Web ServicesPUBLICTransport for LondonBob Blackman MPAlan Mak MPBaroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMGLord O'ShaughnessyMatt Warman MPMeeting (ii) - Roundtable on digital innovation in government on 17 January 2019CiscoCBICapita plcDentonsOracleHPAtosCapgeminiAtkins GlobalBTUpside ProjectsCGIMastercardFluxxCostainAmeyEatonBlue PrismIBMSodexoRedbullAccentureMeeting (iv) - Roundtable on digital innovation in government, 24 January 2019University of EdinburghCity of Edinburgh CouncilEdinburgh Chamber of CommerceEast Lothian CouncilWest Lothian CouncilCodebaseYoung ScotThe Data LabScotland ISMeeting (xiii) - Discussion on Govtech and digital innovation in government on 26 February 2019MicrosoftSensyne HealthAdzunaOnwardSalesforceEpsilon PartnersMustard SeedM&G PrudentialTechUKBalderton Capital

Employment: Mental Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion of public sector workers that have reported mental ill health in each of the last three years.

Kevin Foster: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 126.35 KB)

Unemployment

Frank Field: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ask the Office for National Statistics to publish tabular information on the number of people that have been unemployed (a) for up to 6 months, (b) between 6 and 12 months, and (c) longer than 12 months in each parliamentary constituency.

Kevin Foster: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 94.47 KB)

Huawei: 5G

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2019 to Question 260726 on Huawei: 5G, if he will publish the number of operators on the National Cyber Security Centre list that (a) do and (b) do not utilise Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre advice and guidance.

Mr David Lidington: Owing to commercial sensitivities the names and number of operators who use HCSEC advice cannot be published. All of the significant commercial networks in the UK who use Huawei have access to and work with the HCSEC.

Humanitarian Aid: Medals

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of striking a medal for humanitarian service; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Government is committed to consideration of how best to recognise humanitarian service in a range of ways, including existing honours and medals and as part of widerdevelopments in medallic recognition. Examples include the announcement in 2015 of the Ebola Medal, which recognised people from both military and civilian organisations fortheir brave service to assist communities in West Africa. This new medal was announced alongside existing honours in the Orders of St. Michael and St. George and the Order ofthe British Empire for people whose contribution to tackling the crisis was part of well-established outstanding service.Recommendations for new medals are made to HM The Queen by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals.

Cabinet Office: Public Appointments

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2019 to Question 268615, for what reason that Answer does not state whether it is still the Government's ambition to appoint a Chief Data Officer.

Oliver Dowden: I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given to Question 255390 on 21 May 2019.

Cabinet Office: Amazon

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2019 to Question 267786 on Cabinet Office: Amazon, how many SMEs were present at the roundtable discussion.

Oliver Dowden: I refer the Honourable Member to my response to Question 268379 on 2 July 2019. A number of the industry bodies in attendance represent SMEs.

European Parliament: Elections

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on the potential disenfranchisement of EU citizens resident in the UK in the European Parliament elections.

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the European Commission about the potential disenfranchisement of EU citizens resident in the UK in the  European Parliament elections.

Kevin Foster: Ministers and officials meet frequently with external officials to discuss a wide range of electoral issues.Details of external meetings by Ministers and Permanent Secretaries are published quarterly and are available on gov.uk.

Department of Health and Social Care

Aston Hall Hospital: Abuse

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made in compensating victims of historical abuse at Aston Hall, Derbyshire.

Seema Kennedy: NHS Resolution is managing compensation claims related to Aston Hall on behalf of the Secretary of State. As the management of these claims is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.

Body Modification: Regulation

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of legislation regulating body modification following the prosecution of Brendan McCarthy.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to supporting people to make informed and safe choices about any body modification procedure they are considering and to make sure that the person they choose is appropriately qualified, registered and insured. The Government is currently exploring options to further support this commitment.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has any plans to reintroduce blood glucose test strips on prescription for Type 2 diabetics.

Seema Kennedy: Blood glucose test strips are available on prescription for people with type 2 diabetes. However, it is for clinical commissioning groups to make decisions on the commissioning of health services that best meet the needs of their local population, taking into account local priorities and needs.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on the management of type 2 Diabetes in adults. This guideline states:“1.6.13 Do not routinely offer self-monitoring of blood glucose levels for adults with type 2 diabetes unless:the person is on insulin orthere is evidence of hypoglycaemic episodes orthe person is on oral medication that may increase their risk of hypoglycaemia while driving or operating machinery orthe person is pregnant, or is planning to become pregnant. For more information, see the NICE guideline on diabetes in pregnancy (http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng3 ). There have been no recent changes to prescribing recommendations, although NHS England have recently consulted on proposals to prescribe test strips only that fall below a certain cost threshold.”More information is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/chapter/1-Recommendations#blood-glucose-management-2

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure all Type 2 diabetics have access to a glucose monitoring blood test every three months as standard.

Seema Kennedy: Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning diabetes services for their local populations. They are also expected to take National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines into consideration when making their decisions.

Hospitals: Listeria Monocytogenes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent listeria in food in hospitals.

Seema Kennedy: On 17 June 2019, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced a root-and-branch review of all the food in hospitals, both food served, and food sold. This will look at the safety of food available to patients, visitors and staff, and provide healthier choices and improved nutrition.National Health Service organisations have systems of due diligence in place to ensure that all their suppliers have appropriate registrations. The kitchens and other areas in the NHS used to store and process food are required to be registered and rated by the local authority and all staff involved in the preparation and handling of food are required to hold a level two food hygiene certificate. In addition to this, a food safety management system must be in place that outlines controls and processes for the safe delivery, handling and preparing of foods.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) published comprehensive guidance for healthcare and social care organisations on managing listeria risk in vulnerable people in 2016. The FSA commissioned delivery of training to 557 key staff responsible for food safety in hospitals and 288 local authority Environmental Health Officers in a series of workshops and webinars in 2015.

Heart Diseases: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent heart disease in young people aged 17-30.

Seema Kennedy: The NHS Long Term Plan advises that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is largely preventable, through lifestyle changes and a combination of public health and National Health Service action on smoking and tobacco addiction, obesity, tackling alcohol misuse and food reformulation.A key milestone in the CVD section of the NHS Long Term Plan is for the National Health Service to help prevent up to 150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia cases over the next 10 years. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out that where individuals are identified with high risk conditions, appropriate preventative treatments will be offered in a timely way, and the creation of a national CVD prevention audit for primary care will also support continuous clinical improvement. NHS England and NHS Improvement will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders, such as the British Heart Foundation, as it supports the NHS to deliver the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Health Services: Armed Forces

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that wounded soldier health and rehabilitation bills are paid for by the NHS.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Veterans are able to receive care through all NHS services and are also able to receive priority treatment for conditions relating to their service. In addition to mainstream services, Veterans can also access specific services such as the Veterans Trauma Network. Veterans are able to access high quality clinically appropriate prosthetic limbs from the National Health Service. Nine NHS prosthetic centres are in place to provide enhanced services for veterans.In addition to these services, a new package of support for seriously wounded armed forces personnel was launched on 29 March 2019, the Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans Framework (IPC4V). This new pathway will ensure that individuals with very complex and enduring healthcare requirements transitioning out of the military into civilian life will continue to receive comprehensive support.The above services (as well as some for mental health needs) are commissioned and paid for by NHS England, whereas the devolved administrations have their own arrangements for providing care to veterans.The health needs of serving personnel are dealt with by the Defence Medical Services.

Arthritis: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when electrical stimulation for arthritis pain will be available on the NHS.

Seema Kennedy: We are aware of recent research looking at electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This was a small pilot study of 14 people, and therefore research remains at an early stage. In order to be suitable for routine National Health Service use, larger scale clinical trials demonstrating the safety and efficacy of this treatment approach would need to be undertaken, and assessments of its cost effectiveness would also need to be considered.

Dental Services and Plastic Surgery: Medical Treatments Abroad

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice is available to people travelling overseas for dental or cosmetic surgery.

Jackie Doyle-Price: All cosmetic procedures have risks and can impact upon physical and emotional health. Holiday packages that include cosmetic procedures can trivialise what should be a major decision.The Government urges anyone considering a cosmetic or dental procedure abroad to do their research into the standards and qualifications that apply in the country they are travelling to. They should ensure that adequate insurance arrangements are in place and that they have access to appropriate aftercare back in the United Kingdom in the event of any complications.NHS.UK publishes guidance for people thinking about travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery, as well as general safety advice and information about individual procedures. The Royal College of Surgeons and the British Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons also provide information online and the General Dental Council has published a guide for patients considering travelling abroad for dental treatment.

Accelerated Access Collaborative

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the (a) criteria and (b) timelines for products to be considered in (i) the current round and (ii) future review rounds of the Accelerated Access Collaborative route.

Caroline Dinenage: In October 2018, the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) announced it was supporting the uptake of 12 high performing products, with the potential to improve the lives of up to 500,000 patients per year and save the National Health Service £30 million per year in England. All the products currently being supported by the AAC have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and therefore evidence on clinical benefits and cost savings were considered as part of the process.The AAC board met on 26 June and had a positive discussion about future products and expects to announce further products later this year.The AAC will consider the following areas of interest when determining which products to support:- evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness;- addressing significant unmet need;- application to large populations or high budget impact; and- enabling a novel mode of action or enabling significant changes to the care pathway.

Accelerated Access Collaborative

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how products selected by the Accelerated Access Collaborative will be funded.

Caroline Dinenage: As announced in the Life Sciences Sector Deal 2, up to £2 million of Pathway Transformation Funding has been made available to support the use and integration of product selected by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) into every day practice within the National Health Service. In addition, four of the seven technology areas currently receiving AAC support have been selected to be funded by NHS England through the Innovation and Technology Payment programme (ITP). The ITP aims to remove financial and procurement barriers to support the NHS to adopt innovative medical devices, diagnostics, and digital products.

Accelerated Access Collaborative

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether all products considered by the Accelerated Access Collaborative will have to be cost-neutral to the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage: As it continues to drive forward the assessment and uptake of the best products for support, the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) has been empowered to be flexible and pragmatic enough to identify truly game-changing innovations, that may not be cost-neutral in year, but are assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to be both clinically and cost-effective. This will allow the AAC to identify products, or classes of products, that are most likely to significantly transform care in the National Health Service.

Accelerated Access Collaborative

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Accelerated Access Collaborative has to prioritise products which help control hospital-acquired infections.

Caroline Dinenage: The Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) is interested in identifying and supporting strategically important products that will have the biggest impact on patient health outcomes and/or the delivery of NHS services. This may include those which help control hospital-acquired infections.The AAC has already had made significant progress towards getting the best innovations to patients quicker and at a better cost for the National Health Service.Since 2018, NHS England has been supporting SecurAcath and Plus Sutures, products designed to reduce infection rates, on the Innovation and Technology Payment programme. SecurAcath is a device to secure catheters that reduces the infection risk for patients with a peripherally inserted central catheter and has benefited over 80,000 patients. Seven trusts with higher than 4% surgical site infection rates have adopted Plus Sutures, a triclosan coated suture, with more trusts to be supported this year.

Accelerated Access Collaborative

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the Accelerated Access Collaborative plans to balance its focus on (a) medicines, (b) diagnostic tools and (c) digital services.

Caroline Dinenage: There are no restrictions on the type of innovation that can be supported by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC). Medicinal products, therapeutic technologies, devices, diagnostics, and digital technologies are eligible to receive support.In October 2018, the AAC announced it was supporting to increased uptake and use of 12 high performing products, which span seven technology areas, in the National Health Service. Of the seven categories selected for support, two are medicines, four are diagnostic tests, and one is a device.Further information about the products the AAC are supporting can be found at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/aac

NHS: Drugs

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the availablity of (a) critical and (b) short shelf-life medicines in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: The Government fully understands that maintaining access to all medicines and medical products, including critical medicines and short shelf-life products, is vitally important to millions of people in this country. Ensuring unhindered supply of these products remains the Government’s top priority. As in preparation for 29 March and 12 April, our ‘no deal’ EU Exit contingency plans for 31 October will cover the NHS, social care and the independent sector and covers all medicines, medical devices and clinical consumables, supplies for clinical trials, vaccines and countermeasures, and organs and tissues for transplants.The Department has continued to work closely with the Devolved Administrations, industry trade bodies and suppliers, the NHS and other key stakeholders. Prior to 29 March, the Department analysed the supply chains of 12,300 medicines, close to half a million product lines of medical devices and clinical consumables, vaccines used in national and local programmes, and essential non-clinical goods on which the health and care system relies. These analyses and assessments have been updated where necessary and will continue to be refined while a ‘no deal’ EU Exit remains a possibility. This work has informed our plans.We are asking suppliers to analyse their supply chains and to make alternative plans if they anticipate disruption, including rerouting to alternative ports or using airfreight where necessary. Our contingency measures aim to support industry-led measures and, where required, act as a ‘last resort’ to be used only when a supplier’s alternative arrangements encounter difficulties, to ensure uninterrupted supply.In the case of medicines that cannot be stockpiled because, for example, they have short shelf-lives, such as medical radioisotopes, we are working closely with suppliers to make alternative arrangements using airfreight.Further details can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-and-medical-products-supply-government-updates-no-deal-brexit-plansWhile we never give guarantees, we are confident that, if everyone – including suppliers, freight companies, international partners and the health and care system – does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products should be uninterrupted in the event of a no-deal EU Exit.

NHS: Procurement

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role has recently been played by Deloitte, and at what cost, in the development by NHS Improvement of proposals to introduce a centralised NHS procurement system for products and services; and what steps are being taken to ensure that the introduction of such a system does not lead to a restriction on the freedom of medical practitioners to prescribe any continence product on the Medicines Tariff that they consider to be the most appropriate product for the individual patient.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the (a) Health Care Supply Association, (b) main trade associations for suppliers of continence products and (c) organisations representing patients who use continence products have been consulted on the development by NHS Improvement of proposals to introduce a centralised NHS procurement system for products and services.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Improvement, through an open and competitive procurement process, awarded Deloitte a contract to support NHS Improvement to develop a new NHS Procurement Target Operating Model. The contract for phase 1 of this work, which ended on 31 May 2019, cost £400,000.The new Procurement Target Operating Model will consider the processes, data, and skills and capabilities to deliver a more efficient procurement service. The remit of the Procurement Target Operating Model programme does not cover clinical products and therefore were not considered as part of this review. NHS Improvement has collaborated with National Health Service providers’ chief executives, finance and procurement leads to develop the NHS’s procurement target operating model. Members of the Healthcare Supply Association have also been engaged with as part of the target operating model’s development.Clinical products, including continence products, which are procured by the NHS are the remit of Supply Chain Coordination Limited who work with NHS providers’ procurement teams across England. Clinical product suppliers have not been engaged with on the new procurement target operating model as they are outside the its remit.

Strokes: Surgery

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve response times to recommendations for endovascular thrombectomy treatment for severe strokes which can be administered only within 24 hours.

Seema Kennedy: In March 2018, NHS England published their policy document ‘Clinical Commissioning Policy Proposition: Mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke’ which outlines key recommendations for diagnosis, referral, and patient pathways for intervention, and treatment.The document can be accessed at the following link:https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/clinical-commissioning-consultation-may-2017/user_uploads/mechanical-thrombectomy-policy-proposition.pdfStroke treatment outcomes are monitored by the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme against outcome measures for services which include:- Time from onset to thrombectomy;- Time from onset to arrival at thrombectomy centre;- Time from arrival to arterial puncture; and- Time from arterial puncture to thrombectomy.

Strokes: Surgery

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has in place to increase the number of specialists trained in endovascular thrombectomy treatment.

Seema Kennedy: In England, Health Education England (HEE) is supporting NHS England’s National Stroke Programme to support the education and training of the healthcare workforce in England to deliver stroke care, and this includes increasing the number of medical professionals able to carry out mechanical thrombectomy procedures. The interim NHS People Plan committed to the development of a credential for mechanical thrombectomy, to support the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan. HEE will work with the Royal College of Radiologists who are developing a medical credential, and work is expected to be completed later in 2019. The Royal College of Radiologists’ remit is throughout the United Kingdom.Staff numbers, education and training in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland is a matter for each of the devolved administrations in that country.

Strokes: Surgery

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason endovascular thrombectomy treatment is provided 24/7 only at Stoke-on-Trent hospital and St George's hospital in London; and what steps he plans to take to widen the provision of that service.

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason not all health trusts provide endovascular thrombectomy treatment.

Seema Kennedy: NHS England is responsible for commissioning endovascular thrombectomy treatment in designated specialised neuroscience centres.Endovascular thrombectomy treatment requires specialist skills to maintain standards of safety and effectiveness. As the number of trained specialist doctors and staff who deliver the service is very small, not all health trusts provide these services.Services are being developed nationally in 24 neuroscience centres, with 22 centres currently providing a thrombectomy service. These centres are extending their service hours in a phased and safe way while they recruit and train the required specialists.Currently there are two centres providing a full 24/7 service, a further six centres will provide 24/7 services by the end of 2019/20. Other centres are developing their services and teams to extend their services over the coming years.

Incinerators: Health Hazards

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent research on the effects on levels of public health of emissions of (a) PM2.5, (b) PM1 and (c) PM0.1 from waste incinerators (i) he has undertaken and (ii) has formed the basis of an assessment of the implications for his policies.

Seema Kennedy: Public Health England (PHE) has funded a study to further extend the evidence base on municipal waste incinerators (MWIs). The study found that emissions of particulate matter (PM10) from MWIs are low and make only a small contribution to ambient background levels. The report is available at the following link:http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b06478No evidence was found of a link between exposure to PM10, which includes PM2.5, PM1 and PM0.1 emitted from MWIs and infant mortality, or the other birth outcomes investigated. Further information is available at the following link:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.10.060The latest paper found no increased risk of congenital anomalies from exposure to PM10 emissions, however living closer to the incinerators was associated with a very small increase in risk of some birth defects. As acknowledged by the authors, this finding may be because the study could not fully adjust for factors such as other sources of pollution around MWIs or deprivation. The report is available at the following link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019308104PHE’s position remains that well run and regulated modern MWIs are not a significant risk to public health. PHE will review its advice in light of new substantial research on the health effects of incinerators published in peer reviewed journals. To date, PHE is not aware of any evidence that requires a change in their position statement. This statement can be viewed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/municipal-waste-incinerator-emissions-to-air-impact-on-health

Soft Drinks: Taxation

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what effect the Soft Drinks Industry Levy has had on consumption rates for people on low incomes.

Seema Kennedy: An assessment of changes in sugar levels in drinks covered by the SDIL was included in PHE’s first report on progress for the Sugar Reduction Programme, published in May 2018. The report is available to view at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/709008/Sugar_reduction_progress_report.pdfThis early assessment showed that sugar had been reduced by 11% per 100ml, and average calories for drinks likely to be consumed on a single occasion reduced by 6% by retailers and manufacturers. Data also showed that consumers are buying more drinks that have sugar levels below the SDIL cut off of 5g per 100ml.

Pharmacy

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to reform the pharmacy sector to support the delivery of the NHS Long-Term Plan.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to introduce a long-term Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework that operates beyond 2019-2020.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the value for money of public funding for the pharmacy sector.

Seema Kennedy: The Department, with NHS England and NHS Improvement, is currently working with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) to determine the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework settlement for 2019/20 and beyond. These are confidential negotiations and as such we are unable to provide any detail on these discussions at this time. The Government is, however, committed to working with the PSNC to deliver a fair settlement for the NHS services community pharmacies provide, and one which will enable us to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan.

Pharmacy

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the use of technology in the pharmacy sector.

Seema Kennedy: In ‘The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and technology in health and care’, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care outlined his ambition that the best technology available is used across the National Health Service, including in community pharmacy. The use of technology can improve the safety and efficiency of our services, and patients experience of them. Therefore, among other things, the NHS is working with the pharmacy community to encourage the use of technology by:- Providing the Summary Care Record, which over 95% of community pharmacies are using, supporting the clinical care they provide. NHS Digital is now integrating the Summary Care Record into clinical pharmacy systems to make it quicker and easier for pharmacy teams to access;- Optimising the Electronic Prescription Service, which is now used in more than 92% of general practitioner (GP) practices and all community pharmacies. This means electronic prescriptions can be sent safely and securely to pharmacies directly from GP surgeries. We are currently rolling out electronic prescriptions for patients who have not nominated a regular pharmacy, which will be available in all community pharmacies;- Piloting a digital system in several community pharmacies which automatically checks whether patients are eligible for free prescriptions, simplifying the process for patients and ensuring that people who are exempt from NHS prescription charges are not charged. Following a positive evaluation, we are now planning national roll out; and- Working with the Professional Records Standards Body to publish new standards for data transfer between pharmacy systems and the GP patient record and will underpin the growing connectivity of community pharmacy service delivery with the rest of the NHS, for example allowing calls to NHS 111 to be redirected to a community pharmacy wherever appropriate.

Mental Health Services: Mothers

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for children by identifying and supporting new mothers with mental health problems.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This Government is committed to preventing mental illness and improving health outcomes for new parents and their children. The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment for a further 24,000 women to be able to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24, building on the additional 30,000 women who will access these services each year by 2020/21 under pre-existing plans.From April 2019, new and expectant parents are able to access specialist perinatal mental health community services across England. Specialist care will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth, which will provide an extra year of support (care is currently provided from preconception to 12 months after birth).

Mental Health Services: Mothers

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the role of GPs in identifying and treating perinatal mental health problems in mothers.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has not made any such assessment.

Mental Health Services: Mothers

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the  identification of maternal mental health problems during maternal postnatal checks.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has not made any such assessment.NHS England is commissioning further work to establish a clearer picture of current practice.

Contraceptives

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to deregulate the sale of the over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills for women.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government has no specific plans to deregulate the sale of over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills for women.Emergency contraceptive pills are currently available without prescription from pharmacies. Any applications to make them available on general sale from other retail outlets would be considered in accordance with the Government’s usual procedures by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Healthy Start Scheme

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to increase the number of families using healthy start vouchers.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is working to ensure that eligible families are aware of the Healthy Start scheme and how this will benefit them. The scheme is promoted through the Healthy Start and Start4Life websites, reminding families to take up the vouchers. In addition, the Healthy Start Issuing Unit is proactive in identifying and making contact with families who may be eligible for Healthy Start.

Gum Diseases

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were treated for periodontal disease on the NHS in each Care Commissioning Group area in the last 12 months for which data is available.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of NHS dental periodontal disease specialists in each Care Commissioning Group area.

Seema Kennedy: Data is not held centrally on the number of patients treated for periodontal disease and the number of National Health Service dental periodontal disease specialists in the format requested.

Arthritis

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the UK population suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people, particularly those within the highest risk groups, are aware of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Seema Kennedy: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimates that there as many as 422,000 people affected in the whole of the United Kingdom. Whilst the exact cause of the condition is not known, the following risk factors can play a role in the development of the disease:- age, as the condition is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 40 and 60;- sex, as the overall occurrence of condition is two to four times greater in women than men;- smoking;- obesity; and- there is also some evidence to suggest genes are a factor. Information on the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, risk factors and the treatment of the condition can be found on the National Health Service website at the following link: www.nhs.uk/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/causes/ The NICE guideline also provides information for clinicians on the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of patients with the condition. The guideline can be found at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100

Arthritis: Research

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the NHS has made on research into the (a) causes and (b) potential cures for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Caroline Dinenage: Research on health and social care continues to be funded by the Government through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).The NIHR supports health research into rheumatoid arthritis which benefits National Health Service patients. From 2014/15 to 2018/19, the NIHR funded 42 research programmes and individual awards, including doctoral research fellowships and clinical lectureships, on rheumatoid arthritis, with a total value of £18,558,918.The NIHR is funding early translational (experimental medicine) research into new treatments and diagnostics for rheumatoid arthritis through its Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs). This includes significant themes focusing on relevant research at a range of BRCs, such as the inflammatory arthritis theme at the NIHR Birmingham BRC, the immunity, infection and inflammation theme at the NIHR Cambridge BRC, and the musculoskeletal disease theme at the NIHR Newcastle BRC. The NIHR also funds Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs), and in 2017/18 there were dedicated studies into rheumatoid arthritis underway at the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ CRF, the NIHR Nottingham CRF and the NIHR Sheffield CRF, among others.Further, the NIHR Joint Translational Research Collaboration (JTRC), established in 2011, relaunched in March 2019 as the UK Musculoskeletal Translational Research Collaboration (UK MSK TRC), a strategic partnership between the NIHR and Versus Arthritis. This brings together Versus Arthritis investment in Experimental Arthritis/Osteoarthritis Treatment Centres, the NIHR JTRC, and all NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Clinical Research Facilities with expertise in MSK, with the aim of driving cutting edge translational research to improve outcomes for patients. Rheumatoid arthritis is at the forefront of this work.

Hospitals: Consultants

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical consultants were employed by the NHS in each financial year since 2015; and what the ratio was of people becoming consultants compared to the number vacating that position in each of those financial years.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.   The following table shows the number of medical consultants who work in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England as at March each year, full time equivalent. Number of Medical ConsultantsMarch 201542,100March 201643,600March 201745,100March 201846,600March 201948,000Source: NHS Digital workforce statistics  The following table shows the number of joiners to and leavers from the consultant staff group and the ratio of joiners to leavers, in NHS trusts and CCGs in England, between 31 March 2015 to 31 March 2019, headcount. JoinersLeaversRatio of Joiners to LeaversMarch 2015 - March 20164,3602,7341.59March 2016 - March 20174,4692,8221.58March 2017 - March 20184,6783,0141.55March 2018 - March 20194,5372,9901.52Source: NHS Digital workforce statistics

Cardiovascular System: Screening

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory cardiovascular screening for anyone participating in organised sport.

Seema Kennedy: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has opened its three month public consultation on screening to prevent Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) in young people, ages 12-39. The consultation will close on 7 September and welcomes input from individuals and organisations. Further information about the consultation and how to participate can be found at the following link:https://legacyscreening.phe.org.uk/suddencardiacdeathThe UK NSC last reviewed screening for SCD in young people, ages 12-39, in 2015 and it was recommended that screening should not be offered.The UK NSC is an independent committee that advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four UK countries on all aspects of screening. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, the Committee assesses the evidence for national screening programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria covering: the condition; the test; the treatment options; and the effectiveness and acceptability of the screening programme.

Medicine: Education

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to increase the number of domestic medical student places to ensure that the NHS has adequate staff to meet demand.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has already committed to funding for universities to offer an extra 1,500 undergraduate medical school places for domestic students. The first 630 places were taken up in September 2018 and the remaining additional places will have been made available by universities by 2020/21. By 2020, five new medical schools will have opened in England to help deliver the expansion.The interim NHS People Plan recognises that we will need more people working in the National Health Service over the next 10 years. We will review what further expansion in undergraduate medical places will be needed, in light of future plans made locally by sustainability and transformation partnerships and integrated care systems.

General Practitioners

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase the rate of retention of GPs.

Seema Kennedy: In January 2019 we announced in the NHS Long Term Plan that we are investing an extra £4.5 billion in primary and community care by 2024. This was followed by the five-year general practitioner (GP) contract, which will provide greater financial security and certainty for practices to plan ahead and will see billions of extra investment for improved access, expanded services at local practices, the development of primary care networks and longer appointments for patients who need them.To address workload pressures and building on the success in expanding the wider workforce, the new five-year contract for general practice will see funding towards up to 20,000 extra staff working in GP practices, such as physiotherapists and pharmacists. This will help free up doctors to spend more time with the patients who need them.The interim People Plan published in June 2019 set out the actions the National Health Service will take now to secure the right staff, leadership and culture it needs to deliver the Long Term Plan and high quality, safe care. A final People Plan will be published shortly after the conclusion of the Spending Review, once there is further clarity on education and training budgets. The final People Plan will set out a broader strategy for a sustainable general practice workforce, through both recruitment and retention programmes.

NHS: Legal Costs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2019 to Question 266123 on NHS: Legal Costs, how his Department differentiates between individual projects or cases; and what steps his Department takes to (a) ensure that public funds paid to those legal services providers is in respect of work actually done or carried out by those providers and (b) record the areas of law and jurisdictions of courts and tribunals in which the work is done.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department uses two main routes to engaging legal support.- The Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit (AFU) engages external law firms through the Civil Litigation and Arbitration in Medicines and Pharmaceuticals Framework, as well as the Government Legal Department (GLD). The AFU utilises a case management system in order to differentiate between individual cases and checks are conducted against invoices and supporting documents submitted by each law firm, including GLD, to ensure these are reflective of their instructions. - Other business areas within the Department consult with the GLD on the resources available and should they not have the capacity then they will a conduct a competition for other Legal service providers using the Crown Commercial Services framework contract. GLD will ensure that deliverables are agreed and undertaken to the agreed quality before payments are made.

Infant Foods: Sugar

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that producers of baby food do not routinely breach official guidelines on sugar levels.

Seema Kennedy: European Commission Directive 2006/125/EC on processed cereal-based foods and baby foods sets maximum limits on the sugar content of processed cereal-based foods for infants and young children. It is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure they comply with the relevant legislation. Enforcement of food law is the responsibility of local authorities. Public Health England’s (PHE) review ‘Foods and drinks aimed at infants and young children: evidence and opportunities for action’ was published in June 2019. The Department is considering PHE’s advice and the opportunities for action to improve the nutritional quality of foods aimed at infants and young children. PHE’s review is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/812204/Foods_and_drinks_aimed_at_infants_and_young_children_June_2019.pdf

Care Homes: Closures

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of residential care homes that have closed in each year since 2010.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of home care providers that have closed since 2010.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not hold data on the number of care home and home care provider closures since 2010.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2019 to Question 266815 on Cannabis: Medical Treatments, how many prescriptions for the use of medicinal cannabis were issued in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Seema Kennedy: NHS England and NHS Improvement are using extant systems to monitor use of the newly rescheduled unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in England. In England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and associated costs in primary care and the volume of products used and associated cost in secondary care. NHS England and NHS Improvement Controlled Drug Accountable Officers are also collecting local intelligence in both the National Health Service and independent sector.The NHS Business Services Authority is only able to provide information on prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines that have been dispensed and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority. The NHS Business Services Authority does not hold information on prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines which have been issued but not fulfilled.The following table shows the number of items for Nabilone and Sativex (licensed cannabis-based medicines) and unlicensed cannabis-based medicines that were prescribed on an NHS prescription, dispensed in the community and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reimbursement since May 2018.MonthNabiloneSativexUnlicensed cannabis-based medicinesMay 201845183 June 201842157 July 2018481702*August 201854161 September 2018451721*October 201850164 November 2018461752December 2018491811January 2019441672February 2019361591March 2019511712April 2019491560May 2019Data not yet availableData not yet available2Note: * These figures represent prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based medicines imported on a Home Office licence.The following table shows the same products listed above covering the same time period but this data relates to private prescribing on an FP10PCD where the forms have been submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reporting and monitoring purposes only.MonthNabiloneSativexEpidiolexUnlicensed cannabis-based medicinesMay 2018010 Jun 2018030 July 2018020 August 2018010 September 2018030 October 2018030 November 20180100December 20180600January 20190504February 20190312March 20190303April 20191200May 2019Data not yet availableData not yet availableData not yet available1 Unlike NHS primary care where all dispensed prescriptions are processed centrally, this is not the case for secondary care. This information is collected by a third party and not routinely published.Intelligence from NHS England and NHS Improvement Controlled Drugs Accountable Officers is that, up until the end of March 2019, five patients have had private prescriptions issued for a cannabis-based product for medicinal use in independent secondary/tertiary care in England.145 patients have accessed Epidiolex though GW Pharma’s early access programmes ahead of a licensing decision by the European Medicines Agency.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the costs of untreated patients diagnosed with structural heart disease on the health and social care system; and how many of those patients have died while waiting for treatment in each year since 2010.

Seema Kennedy: The requested information is not centrally held by the Department.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution on 21 June 2018 Vol 643 c229WH, what steps his Department has taken to improve GP awareness of ME.

Seema Kennedy: General practice is where most patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis are likely to be managed, and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the Royal College of General Practitioners (GPs) Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of GPs’ qualifying exams.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Exercise

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure ME clinics and treatment centres are aware of the risks of graded exercises to sufferers of ME.

Seema Kennedy: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline for ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children’, was published in 2007 to support clinicians in the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of people with ME. This sets outs evidence-based best practice for the management of people with the condition and assists commissioners in planning services for local populations. The guideline recommended graded exercise therapy as a safe and appropriate treatment for mild to moderate CFS/ME, in line with the best available evidence.The NICE guideline acknowledges that there is no one form of treatment to suit every patient and that treatment and care should take into account the personal needs and preferences of the patient. Decisions concerning the appropriateness of treatments should be made by on a case by case basis, and in discussion with patients, and their families or carer, if appropriate.On 20 September 2017, NICE announced its decision to undertake a full update of the guideline following a review of the latest available evidence on the diagnosis and management of CFS/ME and a public consultation. New guidance is expected in October 2020. More information on this update can be found at the following link:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10091

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Brexit

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU on 31 October 2019 without a deal.

James Cleverly: As a responsible government we have been preparing for the UK’s exit from the EU in all scenarios for nearly three years. A no deal exit remains the legal default at the end of the extension period on 31 October unless a deal is agreed.DExEU has a vital coordination role to play in these preparations. We maintain a single picture of workstreams, policy proposals and delivery implications across government to inform policy development. This allows us to scrutinise domestic policy solutions and delivery plans that departments develop - ensuring coherence and recommending cross-cutting solutions to drive delivery forward.Over 300 work-streams to prepare for ‘no deal’ continue to be advanced across Government, to minimise disruption to industry, to our vital services, and to the daily lives of the people of the United Kingdom. In light of the extension, departments are making sensible decisions about the timing and pace at which some of this work is progressing and what further action can be taken, but we will continue to prepare for all EU Exit scenarios.We continue to make good progress - for example:Since December 2018, HMRC has issued 74,000 new EORI numbers to traders (as of 23 June).We have published approximately 750 pieces of communications on no deal since August 2018, including 106 technical notices explaining to businesses and citizens what they need to do to prepare.The EU Settlement Scheme is now fully opened with over 800,000 applications so far.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Brexit

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish his Department's no deal preparation documents.

James Cleverly: The Government has published a number of documents to support public and parliamentary scrutiny of our preparations for leaving the EU.The Government continues to report regularly to the House and its Select Committees in person and by responding fully to inquiries and reports. In addition to regular statements by the Prime Minister, DExEU Ministers have given evidence to a broad range of committees on 49 occasions and have made 187 written statements to both Houses.In addition, the Government published a robust, objective assessment of how exiting the EU could affect the economy of the UK in November 2018, as part of its commitment to providing Parliament with appropriate analysis. In addition, all legislation is accompanied by explanatory documents. This information is available online.We have also taken extensive steps to provide businesses and citizens with advice on helping them mitigate the potential impacts of a no deal exit, publishing approximately 750 pieces of communications on no deal since August 2018, including 106 technical notices explaining to businesses and citizens what they need to do to prepare.

Customs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on using Border Force technology to solve the customs issues when the UK leaves the EU.

James Cleverly: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union regularly meets with Cabinet colleagues to discuss preparations for leaving the EU. Similarly, ministers and officials from the department meet regularly with other government departments to discuss a variety of issues.

Brexit

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that measures that have been bilaterally negotiated and agreed on sovereign bases, Gibraltar, security measures, air transport, and medicines are maintained; and whether he intends to introduce primary legislation before the summer recess for that purpose.

Mr Robin Walker: This government has been clear that we do not want a ‘no deal’ scenario. However, it is the responsible thing to prepare for all eventualities. We have therefore ensured we are ready to cooperate with European partners in areas such as security, air transport and medicines, and that the whole UK family, including Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas, will be prepared in the event of a 'no deal'. All the primary legislation necessary for no deal is in place, and work continues to ensure that we are ready for that scenario, while remaining focused on our priority, which is to leave with a deal.

Brexit

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) automotive, aerospace, medicines and agri-foods sectors and (b) all businesses to plan and prepare in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

James Cleverly: Supporting the long-term competitiveness of UK industry and business is a priority for ministers across Government. Through the Automotive Sector Deal, the Faraday Battery Challenge and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles for example, we are ensuring the UK remains internationally competitive post Exit, and continues to be a world leader in the development of emerging automotive technologies.We remain focused on ensuring our smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU with a deal. However, as a responsible Government we are engaging extensively with all sectors of the economy to understand their needs and help mitigate the impacts of a no deal exit. In the last year, DExEU ministers attended approximately 200 engagements with business and civil society stakeholders. We have published approximately 750 pieces of no deal communications since August 2018, including 106 technical notices. When necessary we will continue to update our advice on how people should prepare.

Customs

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to ensure appropriate sanitary and phytosanitary checks are in place to avoid customs delays to onshoring perishable foodstuffs and medicines in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

James Cleverly: The UK currently ensures appropriate sanitary and phytosanitary checks are in place at the border through the use of the EU’s TRACES import notification system. In the event of a no deal, the UK will lose access to this system. To prepare for this scenario, the Government has developed the UK’s own import notification capability.This capability was in place for exit on 12 April and will be in place for exit on 31 October. This will ensure resources are targeted appropriately, so that sanitary and phytosanitary checks can continue to protect the UK from risks to public health while delays at the border are minimised.

Department for Education

Teachers: Pay

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a salary sacrifice car scheme for teachers in state schools.

Nick Gibb: There is a statutory process for revising the pay and conditions of teachers and any change must first be referred by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, to the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). The demands on the STRB’s time and resources mean that the Government has to make hard decisions on prioritising the issues it refers. The Government is committed to making the teaching profession an attractive and competitive career but is not currently considering proposing an extension to the current salary sacrifice schemes for teachers to cover cars.

Swift Academy

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information he holds on the progress that LocatED has made on finding and purchasing a site for the Swift Secondary Academy in Walsall North in partnership with Windsor Academy Trust.

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the funding allocated to build the Swift Secondary Academy in Blakenall ward in partnership with Windsor Academy Trust remains in place.

Nadhim Zahawi: Despite extensive site searches, the department has so far been unable to secure a viable site for Swift Secondary Academy in its proposed location of Blakenall in Walsall.The Walsall Local Plan does not allocate land for educational use and the council has previously indicated that it would not support the delivery of the school.The funding for the school remains available, but given the lack of available sites and uncertainty over the future demographic need for additional school places in the area, we are currently reviewing the project's future.

T-levels

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that businesses understand the value of the new T Level qualifications before their implementation in 2020.

Anne Milton: With longer hours and meaningful industry placements, T levels will provide employers with the future skilled workforce they need to thrive. We have placed employers at the heart of T level development and implementation. We have extended the remit of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to promote awareness of T levels and industry placements with a wide range of employers – the NAS has worked with and gained the interest of nearly 10,000 employers in 2018/19. The NAS also work with business representative networks and recently held a T levels Twitter panel with myself and the Federation of Small Businesses.In addition, T level panel members, responsible for developing T level content, have become strong advocates for T levels. Many of these members are now part of the T level Ambassadors Network - a network of business advocates endorsing T levels on a regional and national basis.

Vocational Education: East Midlands

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote technical and vocational education and training in the East Midlands.

Anne Milton: Since the publication of the Wolf Review in 2011, the department has implemented an extensive programme of reforms to strengthen technical and applied qualifications. This includes taking forward the recommendations from Lord Sainsbury’s panel on technical education (TE), which will create a world-class technical and vocational education system, offering a real choice of high-quality training.Our apprenticeships marketing campaign, Fire It Up, aims to change the way people think about apprenticeships, by showing them as an aspirational choice for those with energy and passion and encouraging everyone to consider them. In addition, the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge project is a free service provided through the Department for Education, and works with schools to ensure that teachers have the knowledge, support and resources to enable them to promote apprenticeships to their students.Alongside apprenticeships, new T levels will raise the prestige of TE and provide students with a high-quality, technical alternative to A levels. We are working closely with the providers selected to deliver T levels in 2020 (including Derby College) to ensure they are ready for first teaching, and have provided them with marketing materials which can be adapted for local use. A communications campaign will launch later this year to raise awareness of T levels, where they can lead and how they fit in with other post-16 choices.We have announced the first 12 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) that will be set up across the country to deliver higher TE and training with a particular focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. Backed by £170 million of government funding for investing in state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, one of the new IoTs is led by the University of Lincoln in partnership with local further education colleges and employers.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support (a) schools and (b) local authorities in providing additional services to help young people with early signs of mental ill health.

Nick Gibb: ​The Department is working with NHS England and Department of Health and Social Care to help schools and colleges provide support for children and young people with emerging mental health issues and secure specialist treatment where it is needed. The NHS Long Term Plan set out that by 2023/24 an extra 345,000 children and young people in England aged up to 25 will receive mental health support via NHS-funded mental health services including new Mental Health Support Teams linked to groups of schools and colleges. The teams will work with groups of schools and colleges to provide swift access to support for children and young people, especially those with emerging, mild and moderate needs. Teams will also support referrals to more specialist treatment. Roll-out is starting with a trailblazer programme to test how teams can be effectively delivered, including how they can work effectively with local authority services to provide coordinated support for children and young people. Staff for the new teams are currently be being trained and the first 59 teams will be fully operational in 25 areas of the country by the end of the year. Directors of Children’s Services and Directors of Public Health in Local Authorities will play an important role in supporting local implementation of the new teams. The Department for Education is working with Public Health England to ensure that local authorities are kept informed and are invited to contribute to local plans for implementation.

English Language: Education

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will allocate additional funding for ESOL to ensure that refugees have access to a minimum of eight hours a week of formal, accredited English language teaching in their first two years in the UK.

Anne Milton: The government recognises that learning English is essential to enabling refugees to rebuild their lives. The Department for Education supports adults in England through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to secure the English language skills they need.The Home Office and the department have also provided £10 million to enable refugees resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme to access additional classes.The government will publish a new strategy for English for speakers of other languages in 2019. Funding for all programmes beyond 2019-20, including any potential funding for this strategy, will be set during the upcoming Spending Review.

English Language: Education

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to improve access to English for Speakers of Other Languages for refugees.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to invest in ESOL provision for (a) refugees and (b) migrants.

Anne Milton: The government recognises that learning English is essential to enabling refugees to rebuild their lives. The government has committed to developing a new strategy for English for speakers of other languages in 2019. The strategy will provide a shared vision for all publicly funded English language provision, including addressing the needs of refugees and migrants. Funding for all programmes beyond 2019/20, including any potential funding for this strategy, will be set during the upcoming Spending Review.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Transforming Children Green Paper, what his strategy is for ensuring a joined-up approach between school mental health leads and other appropriate agencies to improve the mental health of young people.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 27 June 2019



The Department has a joint programme of work with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Health Education England to deliver the proposals set out in the green paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’. New Mental Health Support Teams are being introduced jointly by the Department and NHS England and will be available to 20-25% of England by 2023. These teams will work with schools and colleges and other professionals such as educational psychologists, school nurses, counsellors and social workers to supplement existing support. The Department is also incentivising schools and colleges to identify and train a senior mental health lead, who will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of a whole school or college approach to promoting better mental health and wellbeing. In addition, the Department is providing training through the Link programme to schools and colleges in England over four years from autumn 2019. The Link programme is designed to develop effective partnership working between schools and colleges and NHS specialist mental health services for children and young people.

Schools: Discipline

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Government’s policy is on the use of isolation booths for discipline in schools; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of isolation booths.

Nick Gibb: Schools develop their own behaviour policies and strategies for managing behaviour. To help schools develop effective strategies, the Department has produced advice for schools which covers what should be included in the behaviour policy. This advice can be viewed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-and-discipline-in-schools. Schools can adopt a policy which allows disruptive pupils to be placed in isolation away from other pupils for a limited period. If a school uses isolation rooms as a disciplinary penalty, this should be made clear in their behaviour policy. As with other disciplinary penalties, schools must act lawfully, reasonably and proportionately in all cases. The school must also ensure the health and safety of pupils. As part of Ofsted inspections, schools will be asked to provide records and analysis of any use of internal insolation. Ofsted inspectors will expect schools to have clear and effective behaviour policies that promote high standards of behaviour that are applied consistently and fairly. In reaching a judgement on pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, inspectors will take account of a range of information, including schools’ use of internal isolation.As part of the Government’s response to the Timpson Review of School Exclusion, we committed to publishing clearer, more consistent guidance by summer 2020. This includes guidance on managing behaviour, on the use of in-school units and the sorts of circumstances where it may be appropriate to use exclusion.

Performing Arts: Education

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department taking to fund performing arts education for young people under 18 years-old.

Nick Gibb: Performing arts education is an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum and should not be the preserve of the elite, but the entitlement of every child. Between 2016-20, the Government is providing almost £500 million funding for a range of creative and performance arts education programmes including the Music and Dance Scheme, and the Dance and Drama Awards. The Government is also funding performing arts education through their Youth Performance Partnerships scheme which brings arts organisations and schools together to teach practical performance skills both on and off stage. The scheme is providing £5 million in funding between 2018-21 and aims to provide new opportunities for children and young people (aged 8-18) from areas of low cultural engagement and high levels of deprivation to take part in putting on productions, as well as developing backstage and technical skills including dance, art, creative writing, lighting, sound and set design. The Youth Performance Partnerships will be delivered by Arts Council England and will reach 10,000 young people.

Pupils: Poverty

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of living in poverty on the school attendance record of students.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of living in poverty on the school attendance record of students. Absence data by income deprivation affecting children index and free school meal eligibility is available in the National Statistics release “Pupil absence in schools in England 2017 to 2018”: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-2017-to-2018. All children of compulsory school age, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to a full-time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. Schools should continually monitor pupils’ absence. If a child’s absence reaches a level of concern, the school will wish to raise this with the parents and the local authority in the best interest of the child’s education. Schools have a duty to inform the local authority of any child who fails to attend school regularly. School and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each case and take the appropriate course of action to ensure the child receives consistent education.

Speech and Language Therapy: Children

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the June 2019 report of the Children’s Commissioner, we need to talk: access to speech and language therapy, if he will meet with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to discuss the implications for his Department's policies of the findings of that report.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are committed to ensuring more effective support for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Ministers from the Department for Education (DfE) regularly discuss issues relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including SLCN, with ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and other government departments. On 20 May 2019, we held the first SEND ministerial roundtable meeting between ministers from the DfE, DHSC and key SEND stakeholders to help inform future SEND policy. We will also be using these meetings to help inform the SEND system leadership board which aims to improve joint working and strategic commissioning for all children and young people with SEND, including those with SLCN. On 20 June 2019, the government issued a letter responding to the ‘Bercow: Ten Years On’ first anniversary update report, which was co-signed by ministers from the DfE, DHSC and the Ministry of Justice. The letter reaffirmed our commitment to supporting children and young people with SLCN.

Department for Education: Public Expenditure

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 267289, which programmes have been funded within the budget lines provided in that Answer; and how much funding has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent by each programme.

Anne Milton: Holding answer received on 01 July 2019



The Resource DEL total expenditure disclosed as ‘Other Resource’ in the department’s annual report and accounts 2017-18 is £18,897 million. This expenditure applies to the department’s estimate lines as set out in the table below:Estimate Row 2017-18Amount (in millions of pounds)Activities to Support all Functions-23*School Infrastructure and Funding of Education (Department)81School Infrastructure and Funding of Education (ALB) (Net)2Education Standards, Curriculum and Qualifications (Department)69Social Care, Mobility and Equalities (Department)6Social Care, Mobility and Equalities (ALB) (Net)3Standards and Testing Agency4National College for Teaching and Leadership40Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)2Grants to LA Schools via ESFA3Grants to Academies via ESFA18,617Higher Education20Further Education9Higher Education (ALB) (net)57Further Education (ALB) (net)3Total Resource DEL defined as "Other Resource" in 2017-18 Data Tables18,894** *The amount in ‘Activities to Support All Functions’ is shown as a negative figure, as it represents net income (ie income is greater than expenditure for ‘Other Resource’ on this row in the table above).**The table total differs from the published ‘Other Resource’ figure by approximately £3 million due to audit adjustments which have not been allocated to any one estimate line.

Schools: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department has provided to schools with timber cladding on the fire risks of that cladding.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the fire safety risk posed by timber cladding on school buildings.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what figures his Department holds on the number of schools in England that have combustible timber cladding.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the use of combustible timber cladding on schools below 18 metres in height meets fire safety regulations.

Nick Gibb: The Government attaches the highest priority to the safety of pupils and staff in schools. All schools must comply with building regulations and must also comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, including having an up-to-date fire risk assessment and conducting regular fire drills. Schools are generally very safe environments in this regard as they are typically occupied during the daytime and have multiple exit routes. The Department continues to share relevant Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) advice with those responsible for fire safety in schools.The Department has made no specific assessment of the fire safety risk posed by timber cladding on school buildings and does not hold figures on the number of schools in England that have timber cladding.The Department will continue to take appropriate action in light of any further relevant advice from MHCLG.

Teachers: Pay

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing starting salaries for teachers to make the profession more competitive.

Nick Gibb: In January 2019, the Government published evidence to support the independent School Teacher’s Review Body’s (STRB) considerations for the 2019 pay award. It includes evidence on the teacher labour market, based on the latest recruitment and retention data, and on affordability based on the information provided in the schools’ costs document. On affordability, the evidence sets out the importance of ensuring that the pay award does not place undue pressure on school budgets, with a 2% increase in per teacher pay being affordable nationally, in the context of the cost pressures faced by schools and headroom available for increases in teachers’ pay.The STRB has submitted their 29th report to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, in respect of the 2019 pay award. The Government will now carefully consider the report and the STRB’s recommendations and publish a response as soon as possible.The evidence to the STRB: 2019 pay award for school staff is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-to-the-strb-2019-pay-award-for-school-staff.

English Language: Education

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Department plans to increase funding for ESOL to ensure that all refugees can access a minimum of eight hours a week of formal accredited English language teaching for their first two years in the UK.

Anne Milton: The government recognises that learning English is essential to enabling refugees to rebuild their lives. The department supports adults in England through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to secure the English language skills that they need. The Home Office and the Department for Education have also provided £10 million to enable refugees resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme to access additional classes. The government has committed to developing a new strategy for English for speakers of other languages in 2019. Funding for all programmes beyond 2019/20, including any potential funding for this strategy, will be set during the upcoming Spending Review.

Ministry of Justice

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Enforcement

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the expected savings to the public purse through service contracts with Approved Enforcement Agencies.

Paul Maynard: It is estimated that re-procurement of service contracts with Approved Enforcement Agencies (AEAs) has the potential to deliver resource savings of £25m over the initial term of the contract (5 years), every penny of which will be reinvested into the justice system. Current AEAs contracts include provision for the enforcement of Warrants of Control and Warrants of Arrest; the new service contracts will also include provision for Warrants of Arrest currently undertaken by civilian enforcement officers.

European Arrest Warrants: Procurement

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the expected savings to the public purse of outsourcing warrants of arrest work to Approved Enforcement Agencies.

Paul Maynard: It is estimated that the contracting out of all Warrant of Arrest work to Approved Enforcement Agencies (AEAs) has the potential to deliver savings in resource of over £25m over the initial term of the contract (5 years). This includes Warrants of Arrest currently undertaken by Civilian Enforcement Officers as well as Warrants of Arrest already undertaken by AEAs.

Debt Collection

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full time equivalent Civilian Enforcement Officers are in post.

Paul Maynard: The number of Civilian Enforcement Officers that were employed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service at the end of quarter 4 2018/19.  Full Time EquivalentHeadcount2018-19 Q4 end96.53105

Debt Collection

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full time equivalent vacancies for Civilian Enforcement Officers there are.

Paul Maynard: There are currently no full time equivalent vacancies for Civilian Enforcement Officers (CEOs) within Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). CEOs primarily execute financial penalty arrest warrants and community penalty breach warrants and existing contracts with Approved Enforcement Agencies also provide for the execution of these warrants. This dual approach means there is no requirement for a fixed number of CEOs to ensure this work is undertaken. The number of Civilian Enforcement Officers has reduced over recent years, which reflects a reduction in the number of warrants issued.

Debt Collection

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the most recently appointed Civilian Enforcement Officer commenced employment.

Paul Maynard: The most recent Civilian Enforcement Officer to be appointed to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service commenced employment on the 30th June 2008. HMCTS will soon commence the process of re-procuring existing Approved Enforcement Agency contracts to secure continuity of approved enforcement services to assist with the collection of financial impositions. As part of the re-tendering process a decision was made to explore the possibility of extending the existing provision and implementing contracts to cover all Civilian Enforcement Officer functions.

Hate Crime: Disability

Mr Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for hate crimes against people with learning disabilities in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2017.

Paul Maynard: The Ministry of Justice has published information regarding prosecutions and convictions but the only hate crime offences specifically defined in legislation are ‘racially or religiously aggravated’ offences. The court outcomes for these offences can be found here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802314/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsxFilter by ‘Offence’ for offences starting with ‘racially or religiously aggravated…’ and select all that appear. As hate crime against individuals with learning disabilities is not specifically defined in legislation, we would not be able to distinguish whether or not a particular offence was related to a learning disability. For example, a relevant case could have the offence recorded simply as ‘common assault’. The level of detail required to answer this question may be held in court records, but to be able to identify these cases we would have to access and analyse individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.

Working Links: Wales

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract for the Transforming Rehabilitation scheme agreed with Working Links in Wales.

Robert Buckland: Details for the contract Transforming Rehabilitation contracts with Working Links in Wales are published on Contracts Finder;https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/933013f7-cfc2-4880-8e84-0bdb84d7e94f?p=@FQxUlRRPT0=NjJNT08=U

Divorce

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for decrees nisi there were in 2018 in which the grounds for divorce was two years separation.

Paul Maynard: A decree nisi is the provisional decree of divorce pronounced when the court is satisfied that a person has met the legal and procedural requirements to obtain a divorce. The sole ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Currently, the law requires a person seeking a divorce to satisfy the court of one of five ‘facts’. One fact requires that the parties of the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition for divorce, and that the respondent consents to a decree being granted. In 2018 there were 118,355 divorce petitions, of which 32,297 (27%) cited the two-year separation fact. Following a divorce petition, further applications are required for the decree nisi to be granted and then for it to be made absolute, bringing a legal end to the marriage.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Georgia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress he has made on ensuring transitional arrangements for the UK to replace the EU's trade agreement with Georgia; and whether he has plans to enhance that agreement after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: We continue to engage with Georgia on replicating the effects of the existing EU trade agreement. Both the UK and Georgia remain committed to concluding a new partnership, trade & cooperation agreement as soon as possible. We are working together to ensure we are prepared for all possible scenarios. The Government will inform Parliament as soon as our discussions have concluded. Continuity is our primary objective and securing this will be a strong foundation to build on for our trading relationship.

Trade Agreements: Grenada

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he has taken to negotiate a free trade deal with Grenada after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: The UK signed the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Grenada on 22 March 2019. This will provide continuity for businesses, exporters and consumers as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the implications for his Department's policy on the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia are of the Court of Appeal ruling on 20 June 2019 in R (on the application of Campaign Against Arms Trade) v. The Secretary of State for International Trade.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the implications of the Court of Appeal ruling on 20 June 2019 in R (on the application of Campaign Against Arms Trade) v. The Secretary of State for International Trade are for his Department's policy on existing licences to export arms to Saudi Arabia.

Graham Stuart: Holding answer received on 01 July 2019



The Government is carefully considering the implications of the Court of Appeal judgment of 20 June for decision making. While we do this, we will not grant any new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners (UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt) for possible use in the conflict in Yemen. We disagree with the judgment and are seeking permission to appeal. Extant licences are not immediately affected by this judgment but decisions about these licences are remitted to the Government to reconsider in the light of the judgment. The Campaign Against Arms Trade did not seek an Order to suspend licences and the Court has not ordered their suspension. The Court expressly clarified that the outcome of the reconsideration was not a foregone conclusion.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2019 to Question 259402 on high rise flats: insulation, what estimate he made of the number of blocks that would potentially draw on the fund when calculating the £200 million private sector cladding remediation fund.

Kit Malthouse: Holding answer received on 11 June 2019



The Government announced its commitment to fully fund the remediation of private sector high-rise residential blocks with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material cladding, except where a warranty claim has been accepted. The number of buildings which will receive funding will depend on the applications received. We estimate up to 153 may be available. This number will reduce depending on the number of developers who agree not to draw down the fund I am pleased to report that many owners and developers including Taylor Wimpey, Legal & General, Mace Group, Lendlease, Barratt Developments and Aberdeen Standard Investments, have agreed to maintain their commitments to meet the cost of remediation without the recourse to the fund.

Homelessness

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local authorities charge homeless people for the return of confiscated items.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: MHCLG does not collect any statistics about which local authorities charge homeless people for the return of confiscated items. This is for local authorities to determine, subject to section 211 of the Housing Act 1996.However, the Government is working to support better practise through the implementation of the Rough Sleeping Initiative. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces. MHCLG are working closely with local authorities through the Rough Sleeping Initiative to support people off the street.This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.

Garden Communities

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,with reference to the Loneliness Strategy,  what steps he is taking to work with Homes England to incorporate community cohesion as part of the support offered to existing and future garden communities.

Kit Malthouse: Across England, we are currently supporting 48 locally-led garden communities, to be exemplars of high quality, good design and best practice.These places will encourage strong social connections through vibrant spaces with mixed community use and healthy places that take a holistic approach to tackling wellbeing priorities. To date we have provided £38 million in capacity funding which includes early support to fund dedicated staff teams, key studies and assessments to underpin delivery of our garden towns and villages.My Department and Homes England are exploring an effective means of sharing learning and good practice on tackling loneliness and social isolation through design and planning approaches with professional and accredited bodies.

High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 265494 on fire extinguishers, if he will publish any assessment carried out by his Department into the cost of retrofitting sprinklers for (a) public buildings and (b) all high-rise buildings.

Kit Malthouse: As part of our work on fire safety, we have investigated the costs of a wide range of fire protection measures. The costs of retrofitting sprinklers varies widely depending on the nature and construction of the building in question. Building owners should assess the risks based on the building design and take action, in consultation with residents, if necessary.The cost of installing sprinkler systems in new buildings is covered in a report commissioned my Department and published on 1 February this year which is available on line at; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/783478/WS_5_DCLG_BD_2887__D27V1__286859_Final_Work_Stream_5_Report.pdf

Domestic Abuse: Homelessness

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will ensure that survivors of domestic abuse who become homeless as a result of that abuse are given priority for settled accommodation and are not subject to the vulnerability test.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping and has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.The Homelessness Reduction Act, is the most ambitious reform to homelessness legislation in decades. It came into force in April 2018 and transforms the culture of homelessness service delivery. For the first time, local authorities, public services, and the third sector will work together to actively prevent homelessness for people at risk, irrespective of whether they are a family or single person, what has put them at risk, or if they have a local connection to the area.Although our data is still experimental the indications are that people who do not have priority need are being assisted by local authorities to prevent or relieve their homelessness. During the first 3 quarters for which we have published data 189,760 households have had a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness accepted, and only 6,020 households have been issued with a 'non priority homeless' decision. Our data indicates that less than 10 per cent of all applicants are homeless due to Domestic Abuse, and local authorities will be more inclined to provide accommodation to victims of abuse than others where there are competing demands for accommodation that is available to single people. People who are found to have no priority need are still entitled to assistance to relieve their homelessness.The Homelessness Reduction Act is still very new and we expect outcomes to improve as the new duties are better understood. It is also important to understand that local authorities are adjusting to new reporting requirements that affect data quality, which is why MHCLG published data is experimental.

Buildings: Carbon Emissions

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of only granting planning permission for carbon neutral residential and commercial buildings.

Kit Malthouse: The energy performance of buildings is regulated mainly through Building Regulations rather than the planning system. The Building Regulations set minimum requirements for the energy efficiency of new buildings and for work on existing buildings.Standards set for energy efficiency need to allow for a broad range of construction types, building orientations, site restrictions and other factors, therefore setting a Building Regulations minimum standard requiring carbon neutral buildings may not be feasible. We are, however, planning to consult later this year on an uplift to the Building Regulations energy efficiency standards where there are safe, practical, cost-effective, and affordable opportunities to do so. In addition, the Government has committed to introduce a Future Homes Standard by 2025 for new build homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Modernisation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the publication of the Defence Technology Framework.

Stuart Andrew: The Ministry of Defence is planning to publish the Defence Technology Framework in 2019.

Defence: Staff

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people work in the defence sector by constituency.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a breakdown of the workforce employed by the defence sector by (a) profession and (b) qualifications.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the contribution of the defence sector to the (a) Welsh and (b) UK economy.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a breakdown of defence spending by constituency.

Stuart Andrew: Statistics on Ministry of Defence regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment in 2017-18 can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201718 Data for 2018-19 will be published in January 2020.

Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Poseidon MRA Mk1 (P-8A) will be operational.

Stuart Andrew: The first UK Poseidon MRA Mk1 (P-8A) is scheduled to arrive in the UK in early 2020 and we expect to have reached initial operating capability during 2020.

Ministry of Defence: Iron and Steel

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether her Department has had discussions with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the UK Steel charter.

Stuart Andrew: Officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have been involved in discussions at desk level regarding our approach to the UK Steel charter.

Ministry of Defence: Iron and Steel

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if she will sign her Department up to the UK Steel charter.

Stuart Andrew: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 June 2019, to Question 266721 to the hon. Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden).



Ministry of Defence: Iron and Steel
(Word Document, 28.47 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Migrant Workers: Qualifications

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the IPPR report Measuring the benefits of integration: The value of tackling skills underutilisation published 18 June 2019, what assessment her Department has made of the number of migrants in the UK employed in positions for which they are overqualified.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 24 June 2019



The department has made no assessment of the number of migrants in the UK employed in positions for which they are overqualified.We are working closely with the Department for Education, Mayoral Combined Authorities/Local Enterprise Partnerships, learning providers and employers to develop Local Industrial Strategies and implement Skills Advisory Panels within local areas which will help achieve a better balance between skills supply and labour market demand in local areas.We are building evidence to develop an understanding of what works to support people on Universal Credit, who are working, to progress. One of the ways in which people can progress is to consider their skills and abilities. We wish to ensure that claimants make good decisions that are right for them, as well as understanding their barriers and support needs. Our programme of research and testing seeks to deliver this evidence to help us support people to reach their potential.

Personal Independence Payment

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to change the qualifying criteria for the enhanced mobility component of personal independence payment to allow claimants with dwarfism to access specially adapted mobility vehicles.

Justin Tomlinson: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise as a result of a long-term health condition or disability.Entitlement to PIP is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself.We consulted extensively while developing the mobility component of the assessment, notably undertaking a second consultation exercise following feedback that the moving around activity was difficult to understand.We carefully considered all the responses, including the suggestions for alternative approaches and the final consultation response was published on 21 October 2013.The enhanced rate of the PIP Mobility component was always intended to be for those "unable" or "virtually unable" to walk and we believe the current assessment criteria are the best way of identifying those whose physical mobility is most limited.

Disability Living Allowance: Children

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children in receipt of disability living allowance in the Yorkshire and Humber region were required to transition to personal independence payment upon turning 16 years of age, whilst still in full-time education.

Justin Tomlinson: Whilst designing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the Department considered the relevance of what data should be collected and recorded to support the good management of a DLA or PIP claim. The education status of a claimant is not relevant to a DLA or PIP claim and thus it is not collected for the administration of either a PIP or a DLA claim. You may be interested to know that there are published statistics available on Stat-Xplore on the number of DLA claims in payment which can be split by region and by age. Filtering on claimants who are aged 15 and 16 will show the number of DLA claimants in payment who are due to be transferred to PIP. Stat-Xplore can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/: Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html

Disability Living Allowance: Children

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what analysis her Department has conducted on the psychological effect on children of transitioning at 16 years of age from disability living allowance to personal independent payment while in full-time education.

Justin Tomlinson: We are absolutely committed to improving the overall Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimant experience as this is what claimants rightly expect and deserve. We will continue to engage with stakeholders and disabled people to deliver further improvements where needed and are committed to ensuring that everyone has the same opportunity to lead a full, active and independent life. The design of PIP has always been on the basis of 16 being the appropriate lower age-limit for claims. That has been the case since the first consultation on replacing Disability Living Allowance with PIP took place in 2010 and through subsequent consultations on the design of the assessment criteria and the other detailed processes to support claims, including the needs and requirements of young people reaching age 16 and younger adults more widely.

Employment: Disability and Health

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employers have signed up to the Government’s voluntary reporting framework on disability, mental health and wellbeing since it was launched in November 2018.

Justin Tomlinson: The voluntary reporting framework was developed by the Government in partnership with employers and expert partners to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability, mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. This approach recognises the potential power of transparency, both for employees within organisations and for external audiences. The Government continues to work with employers (including the Civil Service and the NHS) and expert partners to encourage sign up, but there is no requirement for them to notify the Government of how they are using it.

Social Security Benefits: Autism

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,  how many people in receipt of (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payments are (i) autistic and (ii) have autistic spectrum disorders.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payments have (a) Autism and (b) autistic spectrum disorders in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested for Employment and Support Allowance is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The latest available data on the number of Personal Independent Payment (PIP) claims in payment split by disability for both new claims and Disability Living Allowance reassessed claims, each month from the start of PIP in April 2013 – April 2019 can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/User-Guide.html

Employment: Autism

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support adults with Autism gain employment.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government is committed to improving employment outcomes for people with autism. Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability is our strategy for helping people with disabilities or health conditions enter and remain in employment. It includes details of several initiatives that will help support disabled people, including people with autism, in making a successful transition to employment. For example: The Work and Health Programme will provide innovative support for around 275,000 people over five years. The majority of people of starting on the programme (around 220,000) will be disabled people, including people with autism, who can volunteer for the programme at any time. The Personal Support Package for people with health conditions and disabilities, with a range of new interventions and initiatives designed to provide support that is tailored to the individual needs of claimants, including people with autism Access to Work is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme which offers advice and in-work support to disabled people, including those with autism, above the level of statutory reasonable adjustments. An Access to Work customer may receive an award of up to £59,200 p.a. to pay for support to help them to enter or retain employment. This can include help with getting to work. Through the Disability Confident scheme, DWP is engaging with employers, offering online guidance and helping to promote the skills, talents and abilities of disabled people, including people with autism and associated hidden impairments We are also continuing to build on local initiatives in jobcentres, to ensure that we deliver a consistently supportive service across Jobcentre Plus. For example, as part of Autism Awareness Week in April 2019, we introduced short “Bitesize” Autism Awareness Learning for work coaches and promoted Calm and Quiet Sessions in jobcentres. Looking forward, the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme, which will roll out by the end of 2019, will provide highly personalised packages of employment support for disabled people, including those with autism, who are at least a year away from moving into work.

Pension Credit

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of pension credits in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) Haltemprice and Howden constituency.

Guy Opperman: In November 2018, the number of people in receipt of Pension Credit in Great Britain, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Haltemprice and Howden constituency, can be found in the table below:  Number of Pension Credit recipientsGreat Britain1,642,874Yorkshire and the Humber148,940Haltemprice and Howden constituency1,788 The information is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk Guidance for users is available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml

Television: Licensing

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how her Department plans to (a) work and (b) share data with the BBC to determine who will qualify for free TV licences.

Guy Opperman: DCMS and DWP officials are in regular contact regarding the BBC’s decision on the future of the over 75’s licence fee concession. My officials have also had several meetings with the BBC to discuss their decision and further meetings are planned.

Personal Independence Payment

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people that are eligible for the higher rate of personal independence payment as a result of the changes to the personal independence payment assessment guide issued on 17 June 2019.

Justin Tomlinson: On 17 June 2019 the Department published an updated Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Assessment Guide. The updates included changes to the guidance on PIP activity 3 to reflect that help required for a special diet can constitute therapy in certain circumstances. This is in line with the LB Upper Tribunal decision, handed down in November 2016. The Department expects only a small number of claimants to benefit from these changes. The updates also included changes to give greater clarity on the duration of awards to ensure claimants are given the right award length, and on the number of companions at PIP assessments, as well as other minor updates.

Assistance Animals

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all those whose lives could be improved by an assistance dog have access to one.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of assistance dogs.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to provide financial support to voluntary organisations that find, home and train assistance dogs.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the work of assistance dogs.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,  what proportion of individuals who have requested the help of an assistance dog have access to one.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that businesses and public services provide safe access for assistance dogs and their owners.

Justin Tomlinson: The services of assistance dogs are provided by a number of UK charities and private sector organisations, including owner trainers, some of whom are accredited by international bodies. The Department for Work and Pensions does not offer financial support or raise awareness for this sector. As the Government does not directly deliver these services, it does not centrally collect data estimating the prevalence of need for assistance dogs, or record the numbers who have access to one.The services and standards of assistance dogs are currently and historically maintained on the basis of a voluntary regulatory framework. There is no specific legislation for the regulation of assistance dogs and no legislation is planned.Assistance dogs must be allowed access to premises and services as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010. There is also an obligation on service providers to ensure that staff receive disability awareness training. Guidance for service providers on their duties and responsibilities already exists and is available from both the Gov.uk website and from the EHRC – for example:https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/assistance-dogs-guide-all-businessesThe Government continues to encourage service providers to do their utmost to provide the fullest possible access for disabled people.Officials at the Office for Disability Issues (part of my Ministerial portfolio) initiated and helped convene different members of the assistance dogs sector to look at access, quality and supply issues for assistance dogs, with a view to creating a UK standard. This work is currently being considered by the assistance dogs sector who are responsible for agreeing and implementing this standard.

Social Fund

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2019 to Question 264329 on Universal Credit, what proportion of the 0.239 million of social fund over-payments recovered from claimants was (a) from a grant  and (b) arose before 1 April 2010.

Alok Sharma: I can confirm that 0.38% of the £0.239m recoveries from UC were for SF Community Care Grant and SF Maternity Grants and that 1.77% of the £0.239m recoveries from UC were for Social Fund where the Registration Date was prior to 1 April 2010*. Where benefit overpayments occur, the Department ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who are subject to deductions to repay these overpayments.*The data provided in this response has been sourced from internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other, similar data subsequently released by the Department.

Welfare Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2019 to Question 264329, of the 749,000 claimants with deductions from universal credit for non-universal credit debts, if she will provide a breakdown of the tax credit overpayments being repaid by the year in which those overpayments first originated.

Alok Sharma: The table below shows the amount of Tax Credit debt broken down by year. * Reg. Financial YearProportion2016-1713.55%2017-1827.67%2018-1958.78% Universal Credit is expected to lead to savings across welfare as we are able to adjust benefit entitlement in line with changing circumstances in real time. Internal and external data matches are increasingly helping inform benefit payments and alerting staff to check for any undeclared changes in people’s circumstances.When recovering benefit overpayments, the Department ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants from any undue financial hardship.*The data provided in this response has been sourced from internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other, similar data subsequently released by the Department.

Employment and Support Allowance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of claimants of employment support allowance that have a mental illness as their primary impairment.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, information on the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants by high level medical conditions, including Mental and Behavioural disorders, is published here:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml Guidance for users is available at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Unemployment: Mental Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people with long-term mental health conditions that have become unemployed in each of the last three years.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. An estimate of the number of people with a long-term mental health condition who leave employment each year, regardless of whether they became unemployed, is available from the 2017 report Thriving at Work: a review of mental health and employers, an independent review of mental health and employers by Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer. This report estimated that there were around 300,000 such moves in the year 2016-17 in the UK Notes:This estimate was based on quarterly estimates from the two-wave longitudinal Labour Force Survey (LFS) between Q2 2016 and Q2 2017.Each individual in the data is measured at two snapshot interviews, one quarter apart. The estimate identifies people who were in employment in the first interview, but not in employment in the second interview. The data does not capture any movements before or after this quarterly period, or any short-term moves that may have been reversed between the two snapshot interviews. It should however give a broad measure of the degree of ‘churn’.The estimate does not capture the reason each individual left employment, which may or may not have been related to their health condition.The annual estimate may double-count an individual if they have left employment twice in the same year.As this analysis is based on longitudinal survey data, the precision and accuracy of the estimate can be affected by response errors, sampling errors and attrition bias.The estimate covers people who reported the same health condition in both quarters, and remained in the 16-64 age group.Employment is defined according to National Statistics definitions, as used in the ONS’s monthly Labour Market Overview release, in line with internationally-agreed (ILO) guidelines.A long-term health condition is defined as a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more, in line with Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonised Principles. This includes those who are disabled (who report that their condition or illness reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities) and those who are not disabled.Mental health conditions are defined as any condition reported by survey respondents under the categories “depression, bad nerves or anxiety” or “mental illness, phobias, panics or other nervous disorders”. People who report a long-term health condition but do not specify the type are excluded from this analysis. Further details are available from the report at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thriving-at-work-a-review-of-mental-health-and-employers

Personal Independence Payment: County Durham

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2019 to Question 267733 on Personal Independence Payment: County Durham, what key performance indicators his Department uses to monitor the processing of personal independence payments mandatory reconsiderations.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2019 to Question 267733 on Personal Independence Payment: County Durham, if she will make it her policy to (a) establish and (b) publish a waiting time target for processing personal Independence payment mandatory reconsiderations.

Justin Tomlinson: There is no target in law for processing mandatory reconsideration (MR) applications. Decisions are made without delay, but the focus is on making sure that the decision under dispute is thoroughly reviewed. We are engaging with stakeholders to explore how we can improve the MR process. We have also recently implemented a new approach in PIP which includes contacting claimants, where appropriate, to see if there is information that would enable us to change the decision ourselves at an earlier stage. To support this, we are investing additional time and resource for communication, evidence gather and review, which means that some cases can take longer. However, this approach supports our aim; to make the right decision as early as possible so that claimants don’t need to progress to the Appeal stage. Introducing performance indicators - be they in relation to outcomes or the speed of clearance - would compromise the Department’s quality-driven approach. But as explained in my previous reply, from late May 2019 claimants have been advised that as a guide, and to manage their expectations, that they should hear from the Department within 10 weeks.

Pension Credit

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding the Government allocated to charities that work with older people to support them in promoting the take-up of pension credit in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Housing Allowance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to restore local housing allowance rates to cover the cheapest third of local rents to improve affordability for residents in receipt of that allowance who seek to live in private accommodation.

Will Quince: There are no plans to extend or maintain the Benefit Freeze after March 2020. Specific decisions on how to uprate the Local Housing Allowance from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support of fiscal events later this year.

Pension Credit: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the uptake of pension credit in Easington constituency.

Guy Opperman: The Government wants to ensure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. We welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by local organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances and needs in the community.On a national basis, the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on https://gov.uk/, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.Potential customers can use the Pension Credit https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkitThe toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information. In Easington there are just over 3000 pensioners already claiming Pension Credit.

Disability

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment her Department has conducted on the effect of leaving the EU without a deal on people with disabilities.

Justin Tomlinson: No formal impact assessment has been conducted by the Department of the effect on people with disabilities of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a deal. The UK has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the primary legislation in the UK protecting the rights of disabled people is the Equality Act 2010, which is domestic legislation. Neither our ratification of the UN Convention or the Equality Act 2010 would change as a result of the UK leaving the European Union without a deal. Furthermore, there will be no changes in entitlement for UK nationals to disability and carers’ benefits in the UK as a result of our exit from the EU.

Pensions

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her Department's policy that pension schemes can already invest in funds with performance fees.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Royal Mail: Pensions

Mr Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the recent agreement between Royal Mail Group and the Communication Workers Union on pension schemes, whether legislation to permit the use of Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pensions schemes will be introduced before the end of the current parliamentary session.

Guy Opperman: This Government is committed to legislating to facilitate the delivery of collective defined contribution schemes when parliamentary time allows.

Refugees: Universal Credit

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether refugees resettled under the resettlement scheme will be subject to the two-child limit for universal credit.

Alok Sharma: Refugees resettled under resettlement schemes are able to work and have access to some DWP benefits upon arrival.In the same way as other claimants, they are included in the policy not to provide extra benefit entitlements for more than two children unless those children were born before 6 April 2017 or an exception applies.

Universal Credit: Overpayments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2019 to Question 257458 on Universal Credit: Overpayments, how many successful applications there were for a reduction in an overpayment repayment rate in each year from 2013 to 2018.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not available. Our systems do not hold data on the recovery rates that were applied to debts that have either been fully repaid, or have been written off. It is therefore not possible to give a complete figure for the total number of successful, or unsuccessful applications for a reduction in an overpayment recovery rate. The Department ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. If a claimant is struggling they can contact the Department’s Debt Management Team to discuss lowering their repayment rate. Any adjustment to the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant.

Universal Credit: Overpayments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2019 to Question 257458 on Universal Credit: Overpayments, how many overpayments were waived in (a) full and (b) part as a result of applications made by (i) claimants and (ii) their representatives in 2015-16.

Alok Sharma: In 2015/16 there were less than 5 applications for the full waiving of a Universal Credit overpayment and less than 5 partial waiver applications for UC overpayments. The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money (which can be found on gov.uk). Waivers are only granted in limited circumstances including where the recovery of an overpayment is causing substantial financial and/or medical hardship and clear supporting evidence of this is provided. We are unable to provide a breakdown of how many applications were made by claimants or their representatives as this information is not stored.  *The figures provided in this response have been sourced from internal management information and were not intended for public release. They should therefore not be compared to any other figures subsequently released by the Department. We are not able to report exact figures that are lower than 5, therefore this has been listed as “less than 5”.

Child Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the two-child benefit limit on levels of domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.

Will Quince: Domestic abuse is a huge problem in our society, with a number of contributing factors, as well as far-reaching and devastating impacts. It is an extremely complex crime which can affect anyone and this Government takes the issue very seriously. DWP is committed to doing all we can to support victims of domestic and economic abuse. All work coaches undergo mandatory training in how to support vulnerable claimants including recognising the signs of domestic abuse. By summer 2019, we will have domestic abuse specialists in every Jobcentre. We have also been closely engaging with key domestic abuse stakeholders on a range of topics and we will continue to work closely with them on improving our services, policies and support for victims of abuse.

Child Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of individuals affected by the two-child benefit limit are in working households in (a) Wales and (b) the UK.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children have been affected by the two-child benefit limit in each year for which data is available.

Alok Sharma: The Department will shortly be providing updated figures to those we published in June 2018. This will show the number of claimants affected by the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children as at April 2019. The full breakdown of the current statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2018

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting care leavers under the age of 25 from the under-occupancy penalty in the social rented sector.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the local housing allowance exemption for care leavers up to the age of 25.

Will Quince: Care leavers up to the age of 22 are exempt from the Local Housing Allowance shared accommodation rate in the Private Rented Sector. There are no plans to extend this exemption or to introduce an exemption for care leavers to the removal of the spare room subsidy policy in the Social Rented Sector.For those individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Exports

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the export of live animals from the UK for fattening and slaughter.

David Rutley: The Government’s manifesto made it clear that we would take early steps to control the export of live farm animals for slaughter once we leave the European Union.Last year we launched a Call for Evidence on controlling live exports for slaughter and improving the welfare of all animals during transport. We passed this evidence to the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC), who recently submitted their advice to Defra and the Devolved Administrations including in relation to live exports. We are considering FAWC’s report and aim to publish it, along with a Government response, this summer. We expect to come forward with proposals for public consultation to improve animal welfare in transport in due course.As we move towards a new relationship with the EU and the rest of the world, we have a unique opportunity to shape future animal welfare policy in the UK to ensure the highest standards in every area.

Forests

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the progress made in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on meeting the 2011 Bonn Challenge; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: Forestry is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Although not formally signed up to the Bonn challenge, we share its aims and are fully committed to woodland creation and restoration. Our 25 Year environment Plan has a goal of increasing tree cover in England from 10% to 12% by 2060. Recently we have funded £5.7 million to kick start the Northern Forest, announced a £10 million Woodland Carbon Guarantee fund, and launched a £10m fund for new trees in our towns and cities through the urban trees challenge fund. Since 1995 we have supported the National Forest Company in establishing woodlands to restore large areas of industrially impacted land in central England.

Forests: North of England

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the preservation of the Northern Forest.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to preserve forests throughout the UK.

David Rutley: Trees are vital environmental, social and economic assets. We need to take action to protect all trees from pests and diseases to preserve the benefits trees provide, include those trees that are planted within the Northern Forest. Our woodlands and forests are protected by the Forestry Act and Felling Licence regulations. In most cases a licence is required from the Forestry Commission before a landowner can undertake tree felling, with the Forestry Commission taking into account the UK Forestry Standard when considering felling applications. Where clear felling takes place there is, in most cases, a requirement to restock the woodland to maintain our woodland resource. Protecting trees from pests and diseases is essential in realising our ambition to leave the environment in a better state for the next generation. The Tree Health Resilience strategy, published in May 2018, sets out how Government will work with others to reduce the risk of pest and disease threats, and how we will strengthen the resilience of our trees to withstand these threats. The strategy includes a National Action Plan that sets out what we are already doing and what we and others will need to do to protect our trees. The Government has invested £5.7m to kick-start the development of the Northern Forest, which will have planted 1.8 million trees by the end of the Parliament to offer a firm foundation to continue to deliver against its longer term vision. The Government has a manifesto commitment to ensure stronger protection for our ancient woodlands and the irreplaceable nature of ancient woodlands is recognised in our 25 Year Environment Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework. Planning authorities are required to consult the Natural England and Forestry Commission ‘standing advice’ on ancient woodland and veteran trees when determining planning applications that may affect such habitats. The Government is also providing funding of £5m for the HS2 Woodland Fund. This supports the restoration of existing plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) as well as the creation of new native woodland.

Tree Planting

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees are being planted annually in the UK; and whether the Government is meeting its target on tree planting.

David Rutley: Trees, woods and forests are a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only. Neither Defra nor the Forestry Commission records tree planting data except for trees planted in England with central Government support. The latest figures from the Forestry Commission’s report on Government supported new planting of trees in England, published on 13 June, show that from April 2018 to March 2019 at least 2.06 million trees have been planted with central Government support, equivalent to approximately 1,273 hectares of woodland creation. Between April 2017 and March 2018, 1.6 million trees were planted with central Government support, equivalent to approximately 1,045 hectares of woodland creation. The Government has planted 16.1 million trees since 2010, and remains on course to plant 11 million trees in this Parliament, 2017-22. Woodland creation is a key activity of our 25 Year Environment Plan.

Tree Planting

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to increase the planting of trees.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage landowners to plant trees.

David Rutley: I refer the Hon. Member to the reply previously given to the Hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme, Paul Farrelly, on 20 June 2019 to PQ 265458.

Forests: Fires

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department takes to (a) prevent, (b) tackle and (c) deal with the aftermath of forest fires.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Home Office has overall responsibility for wildfires and publishes data which shows most fires in grassland, woodland and crops are set deliberately.   Data provided by the Home Office is analysed and published by the Forestry Commission in addition to guidance that explains how owners can 1) reduce the risk of wildfire damaging their woodlands and 2) help woodlands recover from forest fires. The Forestry Commission holds workshops on Wildfire Prevention; over 150 land managers from the private and public sector have attended these. The Forestry Commission has an incident specific contingency plan for dealing with severe wildfire. In January 2019 this plan was tested in a major exercise which included staff from Defra, the Environment Agency, Public Health England, Natural England, Avon and Somerset Police, Forestry England and Forest Research.   Defra are currently undertaking a review of wildfire in relation to moorland and peatland management recognising that woodland habitats are a factor in such wildfires.

Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to pursue and implement nature-based solutions domestically to (a) mitigate and (b) adapt to climate change and (c) protect and restore nature; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Nature-based solutions are key to tackling and strengthening resilience to climate change impacts. Our wetlands, forests and grasslands capture carbon – and provide other environmental benefits, such as flood management, pollination, and biodiversity. The Government is deploying such solutions to improve our natural environment and our Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out key policies on how improving nature can help tackle climate change. Tree planting is one of the main contributors to nature-based carbon sequestration. Our manifesto committed to planting 11 million trees by 2022, and a further 1 million trees in our towns and cities. We also have a long term aspiration to increase woodland cover in England from 10% to 12% by 2060. To achieve these goals, in the Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced £10m for an Urban Trees Challenge Fund – which is now open for applications - and £50m to help plant new woodlands through the Woodland Carbon Guarantee. Peatlands are our largest terrestrial carbon store. Organic or peat soils make up 11% of England’s total land area, over 70% of which are drained or in poor condition. We have committed to publishing an England Peatland Strategy. The strategy sets out our vision to reverse decline in peatlands and restore them. Work is underway on four large-scale peatland restoration projects across England, to which we have allocated £10m, and will restore 5,851 ha of degraded peatlands. We are also improving saltmarshes. Natural England has an ongoing uplands programme with landowners and we will also be setting up a Lowland Agricultural Peatland Taskforce to help sustainably manage and restore peatland habitats. Once restored, our healthy functioning peatlands will provide a range of public benefits in addition to carbon storage, including flood mitigation and biodiversity rich habitats. Under the new Environmental Land Management Scheme we will pay public money for the provision of environmental public goods. These public goods will include the mitigation of and adaption to climate change. We also support nature-based solutions through our international aid programmes on forestry and mangroves/blue forests.

Horse Racing: Animal Welfare

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the establishment of the new Horse Welfare Board on further improving the high standards of welfare in British racing.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the standards of regulation, veterinary provision and facilities at fixtures at British racecourses regulated by the British Horseracing Authority to uphold horse welfare.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the British Horseracing Authority's standards of regulation on horse welfare in British racing compared to other international racing jurisdictions.

David Rutley: The Government is keen that the welfare needs of racehorses are well met, both during their racing lives and afterwards. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses and the BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible. The BHA has strong links to the international racing industry and was involved in establishing the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Horse Welfare Committee. The Government considers that the standards of regulation, veterinary provision and facilities and fixtures at British racecourses is good. However, both I and the BHA consider that more can be done to make horseracing safer which is why I have been holding regular discussions with the BHA about this. Most recently on the 14 May, I met the BHA as well as the new independent Chair of the BHA’s newly appointed Horse Welfare Board. This Board was formed in March 2019 and includes members from across the racing industry, veterinarians and animal health and welfare specialists. This was a constructive meeting where the number of fatalities of racehorses was acknowledged and both sides agreed that further action is required to tackle avoidable harm and make the sport safer. The Board committed to doing all it can to improve welfare outcomes. I stressed the need for the BHA to develop a robust action plan that will deliver tangible results and intend to stay in regular contact with both the BHA and newly appointed Horse Welfare Board to continue to press for improvements in racehorse welfare.

Retraining of Racehorses

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the work of Retraining of Racehorses in (a) retraining retired racehorses for second careers in other equine disciplines and (b) rehoming retired racehorses.

David Rutley: Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) is British Horseracing’s official charity established in 2000 for the welfare of horses that have retired from racing. The charity promotes the versatility and adaptability of racehorses for other equine activities. We understand that over 6,500 retired racehorses are registered with RoR as active in a second career. In 2018, RoR’s education programme, open to all registered horses, organised or oversaw the staging of 301 events, with 1,681 horses attending. As a result, RoR plays a leading role on the international scene providing advice to other jurisdictions seeking guidance on setting up their own aftercare programmes. In addition, RoR works closely with welfare organisations such as the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare.

Horse Racing

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the importance of the British thoroughbred racing industry to the UK rural economy.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is committed to driving sustainable growth in the rural economy. Our world leading horseracing industry employs over 17,000 people nationally and contributes around £3.5 billion to the national economy each year, and plays a significant role in rural areas.

Climate Change

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect of a four degree rise in global temperatures on (a) the UK's security, (b) the UK's economy, (c) global security and (d) the global economy.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report states with high confidence that a four degree rise in global temperatures would have severe and widespread impacts on unique and threatened systems, cause substantial species extinction, pose large risks to global and regional food security, and the combination of high temperature and humidity would compromise normal human activities.The Government prepares a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) every five years, followed by a National Adaptation Programme, which sets out actions to address the risks identified in the CCRA.The second CCRA was published in 2017.

Cats: Animal Housing

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of catteries which have closed in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: Anyone in the business of boarding other peoples’ cats needs a valid licence under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 which introduced strict statutory minimum welfare standards. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the 2018 Regulations and have powers to issue or revoke licences, and powers of entry and inspection. Although the 2018 Regulations require local authorities to submit details of the numbers of licences issued for their area we would not know how this compared to the previous twelve months (before the 2018 Regulations were in force). Each local authority would hold details of the number of licences issued to catteries under the 2018 Regulations and how that number differed from the number of licences issued in the previous twelve months.

Home Office

Hate Crime

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which 30 local authorities have recorded the highest incidence of hate crime in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales at the Police Force Area level only. Data for Police Force Areas can be found in the Home Office Open Data tables for hate crime, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Knives: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of underage people in the North West of England purchasing knifes from (a) supermarkets, (b) home stores and (c) online.

Victoria Atkins: It is illegal to sell a knife to anyone under 18 in England and Wales and the Government is tackling the illegal sale to under-18s on a number of fronts. Firstly, as part of the Serious Violence Strategy, we are enabling Trading Standards to take forward prosecutions where retailers fail test purchase operations involving sales to under-18s through a specific prosecution fund. In the North West of England, Liverpool and Preston are two local authorities receiving this funding. In 2018/19, 1019 face to face test purchases had been attempted by the local authorities funded across England and Wales, with 121 sellers (around 13 per cent) failing the test and selling to a person under 18. In the same period, 128 online test purchases had been attempted, with 32% (41) failing and selling to a person under 18.The Government also continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of co-ordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeted stop and searches, weapon sweeps of hotspot areas, test purchases of knives from retailers, and educational events. The latest phase of the operation took place from 11-18 March, and overall 689 test purchase operations were carried out in retail premises. Of these, there were 559 passes. 130 (around 19%) resulted in the retail outlet failing the test purchase.To go further in preventing the sale of knives to under-18s, the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 includes a provision that will stop knives from being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.The Government has also agreed a set of commitments with major retailers to prevent the underage sales of knives more generally in their stores and online. The agreement also covers staff training and displays and packaging. Tesco, eBay UK, Lidl UK, Amazon UK, Wilko, Argos, Asda, Poundland, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis and Waitrose have all signed up to the principles. They have since been joined by Boots, the Co-op, B&Q, Aldi, TKMaxx and Debenhams. We are working with retailers to strengthen the agreement in relation to displays and that work is continuing. Following on from this, Asda has stopped selling single knives in its stores from the end of April, a move supported by the Government.

Slavery

Frank Field: To the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary-Under-Secretary of State for Health of 19 June 2019, Official Report, column 145WH, what steps his Department has taken since it sent a letter to the CEOs of 17,000 businesses regarding the audit of compliance with the requirement to produce modern slavery supply chain statements.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has written twice to approximately 17,000 organisations identified as being required to prepare a Modern Slavery Statement under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. As a result almost 4,000 organisations have registered to receive tools and guidance from the Home Office to support effective reporting under the Act.The Home Office is commencing an audit of compliance and organisations which persist in flouting their obligations risk being publicly named. The Home Office is also developing a central registry for modern slavery statements published under the Act to enable the Government to continually monitor compliance.

Female Genital Mutilation

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to increase education and awareness of female genital mutilation in the UK.

Victoria Atkins: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. The Government is clear that we will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong suffering to women and girls.The Home Office’s FGM unit delivers nationwide outreach on FGM. The Unit is providing outreach support to local areas and working to raise awareness of resources available to professionals, including training, best practice examples and information on legislation and policy. Resources include an e-learning package, various communication materials such as leaflets and posters highlighting the legislation and health impacts of FGM, and an online resource pack for local areas.We ran a communications campaign between October 2018 and February 2019 to tackle FGM. The campaign sought to prevent FGM by changing attitudes among affected communities through raising awareness of the negative long-term health consequences of FGM. The campaign also raised awareness that FGM is a crime and encouraged communities to report via the NSPCC’s FGM helpline. The campaign supported the objectives of the cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.Earlier this year, the Home Office trained around 1,300 professionals across the country on FGM and forced marriage protection orders. The events raised awareness of the scope and effectiveness of the orders, along with a practical guide to applying, with the aim of encouraging professionals to always consider them in any safeguarding plans.

Visas: Fees and Charges

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason his Department decided to charge visa applicants £5.48 for email inquiries.

Caroline Nokes: The £5.48 email charge is levied to fund the UKVI contact centre commercial contract as the UK government believes it is right that those who use and benefit directly from the UK immigration system make an appropriate contribution towards meeting the costs of it. This email charge includes the initial e-mail enquiry plus any follow-up e-mails to and from the contact centre relating to the same enquiry.The international charge (£5.48 per email enquiry) was introduced on 1st June 2017 as part of the UKVI Contact Centre operations contract awarded to SITEL UK LtdThose who use the services are predominantly from outside the UK. Our web site www.gov.uk is the main source of information and advice and is free of charge.Further details of the financial arrangement in place between the Home Office and SITEL UK Ltd for the provision of Contact Centre Services (UK and International) is not available due to it being commercially sensitive.

Visas: Fees and Charges

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money in cash terms his Department raised from levying a £5.48 charge on email visa enquiries in 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Details of the financial arrangement in place between the Home Office and SITEL UK Ltd for the provision of Contact Centre Services (UK and International) is not available due to it being commercially sensitive.

Visas: Fees and Charges

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money in cash terms his Department raised from levying an additional £1.37 per minute on top of the standard network charge on telephone visa enquiries in 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Details of the financial arrangement in place between the Home Office and SITEL UK Ltd for the provision of Contact Centre Services (UK and Interna-tional) is not available due to it being commercially sensitive.

Visas: Fees and Charges

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa or settlement applicants paid for the priority service in 2018; and how many of those applicants received a response within one working day.

Caroline Nokes: Home Office published information on in-country applications performance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-may-2019The Home Office does not publish information on the out of country Priority and Super Priority visa service. Published information on the international visa operation is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-operations-transparency-data-may-2019

VFS Global

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the criteria his Department use to assess the performance of VFS Global in handling visa and settlement applications.

Caroline Nokes: In line with the Government’s commitment to transparency, it is the Home Office’s intention to publish details of the Service Levels (Schedule 7 of the contract) relating to the Next Generation Visa (NGOV) Services contract delivered by VFS Global using Contracts Finder (part of gov.uk). These Service Levels set out the criteria Home Office uses to assess the performance of VFS Global in handling visa and settlement applications. Regrettably, the Home Office is currently experiencing technical issues and is not able to publish contract information using Contracts Finder.

VFS Global

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish his Department’s most recent assessment of VFS Global’s performance in meeting targets in relation to their handling of visa and settlement applications.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office do not publish VFS’s global performance in meeting targets in relation to their handling of visa and settlement applications.

VFS Global

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the contract held between his Department and VFS Global on handling visa and settlement applications.

Caroline Nokes: In line with the Government’s commitment to transparency, it is the Home Office’s intention to publish a redacted version of the Next Generation Visa (NGOV) Services contract delivered by VFS Global using Contracts Finder (part of gov.uk). Regrettably, the Home Office is currently experiencing technical issues and is not able to publish contract information using Contracts Finder.

VFS Global

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to renew the contract held between his Department and VFS Global in relation to handling visa and settlement.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office contract for Next Generation Visa (NGOV) Services delivered by VFS Global is currently due to expire on 31st March 2021. The Home Office has an option to extend the contract for a further 2 years (until 2023). No decision has yet been taken on how these services will be delivered post 2021.

Immigrants: Detainees

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were detained (a) in total and (b) for more than 24 hours in short-term holding facilities at (i) Heathrow and (ii) Gatwick airport in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made implementing the recommendations of the Independent Monitoring Boards to improve conditions in short-term holding facilities.

Caroline Nokes: Home Office management information indicates there were 19,434 detentions at the short-term holding facilities at Heathrow airport between June 2018 and May 2019. Of this number, 136 people were detained for more than 24 hours. For the same period 8,386 detentions were recorded in the short-term holding facilities at Gatwick airport, and of these 74 people were detained for more than 24 hours. This is provisional management information that has not been assured to the standard of official statistics.Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) provide vital scrutiny of short-term holding facilities and help ensure that they provide a secure and humane detention environment. IMBs publish annual reports and the Government responds with a published action plan. The Government has responded to the 2018 annual report for the North and Midlands Independent Monitoring Board for short-term holding facilities and will be responding to the 2018 annual reports for Heathrow Airport, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Larne, and Port of Dover short-term holding facility Independent Monitoring Boards in due course.

Immigrants: Detainees

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people currently in Immigration Removal Centres claim to be under 18 years old.

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his policy is on detaining in Immigration Removal Centres people who claim to be under 18 years old but whose age is disputed by his Department.

Caroline Nokes: The Government ended the routine detention of children in immigration re-moval centres in 2010. Current Home Office policy maintains this position. However, although many asylum seekers who claim to be children do not have any definitive documentary evidence to support their claimed age, the Home Office does not treat an individual as an adult when there is doubt about whether they are an adult or a child. In cases where new information comes to light or concerns are raised, which indicate that a person who has been detained as an adult may be a child, we would seek to release them in to the care of local authority children’s services at the earliest safe opportunity for an age assessment and they will be treated as a child whilst the outcome is awaited.The Home Office publishes information on the number of children in detention on the last day of each quarter. The data is available in the detention tables (dt_13_q) in the latest release of ‘Immigration Statistics, year ending March 2019’, available from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803188/detention-mar-2019-tables.ods.

Asylum

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reporting locations there are for asylum seekers in each local authority area.

Caroline Nokes: Asylum seekers are not required to report to the Secretary of State unless they have had a negative decision or if they have previously been encountered in breach of the Immigration rulesThe majority of individuals on reporting conditions are required to report to one of the 14 reporting centres in a Home Office location. Additional reporting currently takes place in police stations in some of the areas not close to a reporting centre.

Asylum

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his policy is on increasing the number of reporting locations for asylum seekers.

Caroline Nokes: There are currently no plans to increase the number of reporting locations. In some areas of the UK where there are no Reporting Centres, the Home Office require indivduals on reporting conditions to to report to Non-Home Office locations (Police Stations).

Refugees

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) allowing child refugees to sponsor their close family and (b) changing the definition of family to include young people over the age of 18 and elderly people over the age of 65 so that families can be reunited in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The Government provides safe and legal routes to bring families together through its family reunion policy. This allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.There is currently no provision in the Immigration Rules for children with refugee status in the UK to sponsor family members to join them. Allowing children to sponsor parents would create further incentives for more children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave their family and risk hazardous journeys to the UK to sponsor relatives. This plays into the hands of criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people and goes against our safeguarding responsibilities.Our policy makes clear that there is discretion to grant visas outside the Immigration Rules, which caters for extended family members in exceptional circumstances – including young adult sons or daughters who are dependent on family here and living in dangerous situations.Refugees can also sponsor adult dependent relatives living overseas to join them where, due to age, illness or disability, that person requires long-term personal care that can only be provided by relatives in the UK.The Government is listening carefully to calls extend refugee family reunion policy and we will continue our productive discussions with stakeholders on this complex and sensitive issue. However, any changes must support the principle that those who need protection claim in the first safe country they reach – and use safe and legal routes to come here.

Intelligence Services

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that the security services are compliant with the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 and related Codes of Practice.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 provides extensive and world-leading privacy safeguards. This sits alongside a robust oversight regime with independent mechanisms for redress.The Investigatory Powers Commissioner, the Rt hon Lord Justice Fulford, is responsible for overseeing the use of investigatory powers by the intelligence agencies. The safeguards and oversight regime provided for in the Act are designed to ensure that all relevant bodies are in full compliance with its requirements. In addition, the related Codes of Practice provide information on the processes associated with applying to use each of the powers, as well as the safeguards and oversight arrangements that will ensure the powers are used in the intended manner.On 9 May the Home Secretary announced, through a written ministerial statement to Parliament, that a report of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner found that MI5 may not have had sufficient assurance of compliance with particular safeguards in the Investigatory Powers Act which relate to processing information obtained under a warrant.In response to the Commissioner’s report, MI5 have taken immediate and substantial mitigating actions to address the concerns raised. Work to implement those mitigations is ongoing and is being treated as a matter of the highest priority, both by MI5 and the Home Office. The Home Secretary has also established an independent review to consider and report back on what lessons can be learned for the future.

Airguns: Reviews

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2019 to Written Question 230648, Airguns: Reviews, when his Department plans to publish its response to the review on the regulation of air weapons which was launched on 10 October 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: We intend to publish our conclusions to the review of air weapons regulation as soon as possible, alongside a consultation on firearms safety issues to which the Government committed during the passage of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.

Migrant Workers: Physiotherapy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to change the minimum earnings limit for physiotherapists renewing a work visa to increase the number of physiotherapists working in the NHS.

Caroline Nokes: The Government values the important work that physiotherapists do for the NHS. The current Tier 2 system, through which physiotherapists can be recruited, ensures that experienced workers are paid the higher of either a minimum of £30,000 or the ‘going rate’ for this occupation, the latter of which is based on data provided by the Office for National Statistics. This system is designed to ensure that migrants are paid a fair wage and that the resident workforce is not undercut.However, we have been clear that decisions on the future immigration system should be based on clear evidence. That is why, on 24 June 2019, the Government asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to consider the issue of minimum salary thresholds in more detail. As part of this new commission, we have asked the MAC to look at a number of issues including the approach to calculating salary thresholds, the levels at which they should be set, the case for greater regional variation and the impact of exemptions from minimum salary thresholds. This report is due by January 2020.

Police: Musculoskeletal Disorders

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate his Department has made of the number of working days lost in police forces in England and Wales as a result of musculoskeletal conditions.

Mr Nick Hurd: The number of working days lost in police forces in England and Wales specifically as a result of musculoskeletal conditions is not collected centrally by the Home Office.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of police officers on long-term absence as at 31st March each year, including long-term absence for sickness. Long-term absence includes officers on leave for 28 days or more.These data are available in the Absence Open Data tables published alongside the annual ‘Police workforce’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-open-data-tablesThe Home Office also collects information on the number of police officers on short/medium term sick absence as at 31st March each year. Short/medium term absence due to sickness includes officers on leave for 28 days or less.This information is published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services in their Value for Money profiles, available here: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/our-work/value-for-money-inspections/value-for-money-profiles.

Asylum: Yazidis

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who identify at Yezidi have been granted asylum under the Syrian Refugee Programme.

Caroline Nokes: The UK’s resettlement programmes follow the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality, which means that we resettle on the basis of needs identified by UNHCR through their established processes, rather than on the basis of ethno-religious originIn order to protect the privacy of those being resettled we limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available. We therefore do not routinely publish a religious and ethnic breakdown of those who have been resettled.

Hate Crime: Learning Disability

Mr Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests were made for hate crimes against people with learning disabilities in (a) 2018 and (b) 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of arrests, conducted by each police force in England and Wales, on an annual basis.Data are held at the offence group level only (for example ‘Violence against the person’ and ‘Public order’ offences). Information on the number of arrests for hate crimes against people with learning disabilities are not held centrally.Data are published in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, the latest of which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2018

Fire and Rescue Services: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 265493 on Fire and Rescue Services, what criteria his Department used to determine that £2.3 billion would adequately resource the Fire and Rescue Services.

Mr Nick Hurd: The £2.3billion comprises around £1.4billion in locally raised council tax receipts and around £850million from the Local Government Finance Settlement, which is comprised of locally retained business rates and revenue support grant. The fire share of the Local Government Settlement was determined at the point of the previous Spending Review, based on analysis of the needs assessment and previous spend.Single purpose fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 2.3 percent in cash terms in 2019/20 and as of March 2018, these authorities held £545m in reserves, an increase of 80 percent since March 2011 and equivalent to 42 percent of their core spending power.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the forthcoming national alcohol strategy will be published.

Victoria Atkins: We are considering the precise timing of next steps across Government

Emergency Services Network: Scotland

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Emergency Service Network sites are planned to be deployed in (a) Angus and (b) Scotland.

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mobile providers have access to the Emergency Service Network critical communications system in (a) Angus, (b) Scotland and (c) the United Kingdom.

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Emergency Service Network critical communications system sites are active in (a) Angus and (b) Scotland.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Emergency Services Network is being provided primarily to deliver world class critical voice and data to the emergency services to replace the aging and expensive Airwave network.To provide the necessary coverage for ESN, mobile network operator EE is building over 400 new sites across the UK and upgrading its entire existing network to 4G.Across the whole of Scotland, EE is initially deploying 355 sites with additional sites to follow, although some locations have still to be confirmed. Of these, 284 having been activated to date. The new 4G coverage these sites deliver, in addition to the upgrading of existing masts, will be available to EE’s commercial customers in addition to the emergency services wherever possible. In Angus, EE has deployed and activated one new site.In addition to the new sites being provided by EE, the ESN programme is responsible for providing approximately 300 sites in the most remote and rural areas of Great Britain as part of the Extended Area Service (EAS) projectOther Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) can share all new sites being built by EE through a clear and well-understood industry process, in line with our State Aid requirements. It is a matter for those mobile network operators if they wish to share this infrastructure.For the EAS sites all MNOs can apply to site share if the necessary planning permissions regarding a mast capable of hosting multiple operators are granted by the local planning authority. 98% of structures planned are designed to accommodate additional MNOs.Twelve of these EAS sites are planned in Angus and these are composed of nine greenfield sites and three sites shared with the existing Airwave service. Construction has completed on one site.Across the whole of Scotland 123 EAS sites are planned, including 76 greenfield sites, 30 sites shared with the existing Airwave service, and 17 sites shared with other mobile network operators. Of these 18 shared sites, 11 are proposed as shared sites with the Scottish Government 4G infill programme.Of the 76 greenfield sites across Scotland, 10 have now completed construction, and construction is underway on a further 14 sites. The remainder are at various different stages of the necessary planning and legal processes before construction can beginCurrently there is one EAS site active in Scotland which is located in Lockerbie.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2019 to Question 267306, if he will place in the House of Commons Library a copy of any (a) minutes of meetings where the decision to exclude tax credit records was discussed or made and (b) equality impact assessment conducted to inform that decision.

Caroline Nokes: The purpose of the automated checks is to help the applicant establish their continuous residence in the UK. Eligibility to receive benefits is not dependent upon being continuously resident in the UK. Benefits except Job Seekers Allowance and Maternity Allowance on their own are not strong indicators of continuous residence unless receipt of them persists over a period of 12 months. There are also overlaps with other data that is available from the checks. For instance, PAYE data covers most applicants who claim working tax credits and receipt of other benefits included in the checks will overlap with receipt of child tax credits. Child Benefit is not included in the automated checks because it is not a sufficient indicator of continuous UK residence. A full explanation of how the automated checks work has been published at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-uk-tax-and-benefits-records-automated-check.Following analysis conducted on an anonymised sample of 10,000 applications submitted under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, the Home Office estimated that the potential pool of resident EEA citizens who might benefit from tax credits data being included in the automated checks was around two per cent and this was before any consideration of the applicability of that data to proving continuous residence. Individuals who need to rely on tax credits to demonstrate their continuous residence are still able to provide documentary evidence of this as part of their application.In accordance with section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, we have had due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants to the EU Settlement scheme are recorded as being (a) male and (b) female in relation to the outcome of their applications.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data fields are processed by the EU Settlement scheme that are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons data disaggregated by protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 is not included in his Department's monthly official statistics on the operation of the EU Settlement Scheme.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2019 to Question 252534, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the compliance of the operation of the EU Settlement Scheme with the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

Caroline Nokes: The second official statistics – ‘EU Settlement Scheme Statistics, May 2019’ – on the operation of the scheme were published on 20 June 2019, including applications received by nationality and constituent parts of the UK. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics-may-2019The Home Office is committed to publishing more detailed quarterly statistics on the EU Settlement Scheme, alongside our Immigration Statistics, from August 2019. Home Office statisticians and officials are currently considering the content and will take into account the views of statistics users.The application process for the EU Settlement Scheme collects data on the applicant’s date of birth, nationality and, where appropriate, marital or civil partnership status. Other data on protected characteristics may be processed as part of the application.In accordance with the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the Government continues to have due regard to the impacts of the EU Settlement Scheme on those who share a protected characteristic. A Policy Equality Statement, which sets out the Government’s consideration of the impacts of the scheme on those who share such a characteristic, will be published shortly.

Overseas Students: English Language

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the news article, Foreign students demand home secretary put things right after thousands targeted in cheating scandal, published by the Independent on 27 June,  if he will make it his policy to undertake a review of his Department's decision not to allow a right of appeal for students accused of cheating in English language tests; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: Parliament legislated to amend the appeals system in the Immigration Act 2014 so that an appeal only arises where a claim raising asylum, humanitarian protection or human rights is refused, where protection status is revoked and for deprivation of citizenship. Similar provisions are set out in the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016. Given the passage of time, many of those refused on the basis of alleged cheating in English language tests will now have arguable human rights claims. Even if refused, these will normally generate an in-country right of appeal.The Home Secretary is considering the findings of the National Audit Office report in response to cheating in English language tests. He will then make a statement to Parliament.

Refugees: France

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2019 to Question 266773 on France: Refugees, whether his Department has made representations to the French Government on protecting the human rights of refugees based in (a) Calais and (b) Dunkirk.

Caroline Nokes: The UK and France continue to maintain a strong bilateral cooperation on illegal migration. Central to this relationship is the Sandhurst Treaty, signed in January 2018. Articles 2-4 of the Treaty outline our commitment to (i) continued implementation of the Dublin process (ii) facilitating the transfer of unaccompanied minors under national relocation schemes, and (iii) improving access to French domestic asylum procedures.A portion of the Sandhurst funding package has been used to implement these Treaty obligations. £3.6 million was specifically allocated to funding the development of the Dublin and Dubs process to support transfers of eligible children to the UK, including training for those working with unaccompanied children, family tracing and targeted information campaigns. We continue to work with France to transfer eligible children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and the Dublin regulation and transfers are ongoing. These projects are overseen by the UK-France Migration Committee, which is comprised of policy experts and senior officials from the UK and France.

Organised Crime

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle gangs involved in organised immigration crime.

Caroline Nokes: The UK is playing a leading role in tackling organised immigration crime. The Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce, which the Government set up in 2015, brings together officers from the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement International and the Crown Prosecution Service to exploit every opportunity at source, in transit countries and in Europe to identify and disrupt organised crime groups involved in immigration crime.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of application rates in the EU Settlement scheme.

Caroline Nokes: On 10 June 2019, the Home Secretary confirmed that more than 800,000 applications had been received under the EU Settlement Scheme and that almost 700,000 of these had been granted status.The second official statistics – ‘EU Settlement Scheme Statistics, May 2019’ – on the operation of the scheme were published on 20 June 2019, including applications received by nationality and constituent parts of the UK. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics-may-2019.

Police: Stress

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of police officers taking time off work for stress-related reasons in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The number of police officers taking time off work for stress-related reasons is not collected centrally by the Home Office.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of police officers on long-term absence as at 31st March each year, including long-term absence for sickness. Long-term absence includes officers on leave for 28 days or more.These data are available in the Absence Open Data tables published alongside the annual ‘Police workforce’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-open-data-tablesThe Home Office also collects information on the number of police officers on short/medium term sick absence as at 31st March each year. Short/medium term absence due to sickness includes officers on leave for 28 days or less.This information is published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services in their Value for Money profiles, available here: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/our-work/value-for-money-inspections/value-for-money-profiles.

Department for International Development

Horn of Africa: Food

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the level of food security throughout the greater Horn of Africa in September 2019; and what steps his Department is taking to prepare for potential emergency assistance in that region during that month.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID is concerned by deteriorating levels of food security in the Horn of Africa. This is largely a result of poor rainfall across much of the region and political instability and insecurity, including in Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The UK is a world leader in supporting those at risk of food insecurity, and has taken early action across the region to save lives. This includes £8 million of additional support in Somalia to support emergency interventions and resilience, and £12 million in Ethiopia to support cash transfers to meet emergency food needs. In Sudan, DFID has contributed £30 million this fiscal year to humanitarian interventions. DFID will continue to monitor the situation closely and press the international community to commit further support where it is needed. DFID will also continue to support communities and states in the Horn to build resilience to crises and shocks. Our work on humanitarian early warning systems raises awareness of crises where food security is deteriorating, and we prioritise longer-term responses to support food security, including through agricultural programmes.

Northern Ireland Office

Human Trafficking: Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the merits of the Northern Irish Government’s model of providing independent guardians to all separated and trafficked children.

John Penrose: This issue is wholly devolved in Northern Ireland, so it would not be for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to carry out an assessment of the merits of the system.

Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress she has made on bringing forward legislative proposals to implement the recommendations of the Hart report into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

John Penrose: As I recently wrote to the honourable Member, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is determined to do everything in her power to ensure that the victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse get the redress they deserve as quickly as possible. That is why she asked the Northern Ireland political parties to consider the outstanding key issues identified by David Sterling, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, and is pleased the parties have reached a consensus on these. The Executive Office is now working with the Office of Legislative Council to redraft the legislation in light of the parties’ recommendations, which deviate significantly from Sir Anthony Hart's recommendations. The Secretary of State continues to engage with David Sterling and colleagues in Westminster on this vital issue.

Lough Foyle

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many occasions since February 2017 have meetings been held between officials in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic to conclude a management agreement which would clarify criminal and regulatory jurisdiction on Lough Foyle.

John Penrose: The Government recognises the need to take action to address illegal activity on Lough Foyle and our position on Lough Foyle has not changed. The regulation of activities in Lough Foyle is the responsibility of the Loughs Agency, a cross-border body established under the Belfast Agreement of 1998. We remain fully committed to these arrangements and continue to work closely with the Irish Government over improvements to the management of the Loughs. British and Irish officials last met in October 2017 when a number of issues were discussed including the Loughs, and the management of aquaculture in them, and they have been in regular contact since.

Treasury

London Capital and Finance

Laura Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department taking following the collapse of London Capital & Finance to ensure that mini-bond holders in Crewe and Nantwich will be properly compensated.

John Glen: The administrators for London Capital & Finance (LCF) are currently estimating recoveries for investors affected by LCF’s failure.The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), as the compensation scheme of last resort, can only provide compensation for claims connected with certain types of regulated activities. They are working closely with LCF’s administrators and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to understand more about LCF’s activities and whether there are grounds for compensation. The FSCS is an independent non-governmental body. The FSCS carries out its compensation function within rules set by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the FCA, who are also independent of Government.If there are circumstances that give rise to potentially valid claims, the FSCS will communicate this on their website. They have invited LCF investors to register for updates on their website. More information on this can be found at https://www.fscs.org.uk/failed-firms/lcf/.

VAT: Fraud

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what safeguards his Department has put in place to prevent online VAT fraud.

Jesse Norman: The Government has led the way in tackling this complex and international problem. A package of measures was announced at Budget 2016 to tackle abuse by overseas businesses selling goods to UK customers through online marketplaces. This included holding online marketplaces jointly liable for the future unpaid VAT of non-compliant overseas businesses and the introduction of the Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme which went live in April 2019. At Budget 2017 the Government strengthened the joint and several liability rules for online marketplaces to include UK businesses, where they either knew or should have known that an overseas business should have been registered for VAT and required them to display a valid VAT number where provided with one. Taken together, these measures are expected to deliver just under £1bn by 2023.

VAT: Fraud

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC takes in responding to complaints on online VAT fraud; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of HMRC's response to such complaints.

Jesse Norman: HMRC take all complaints seriously. When complaints are received, HMRC aim to deal with them effectively and learn from them to improve services and operations for the benefit of all customers. HMRC have complete operational independence from Treasury Ministers, and therefore the Chancellor of the Exchequer will not be privy to the results of how HMRC has responded to specific complaints.

Pensions

Nick Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Conduct Authority survey of defined benefit pension advice published on 19 June 2019, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of advice provided by the financial services industry on the potential merits of transferring out of defined benefit pension schemes.

John Glen: The Government is committed to working with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent financial services regulator, who are responsible for ensuring that the financial advice market works well, competitively and fairly. The Government has established a strong regulatory framework to enable the FCA’s work. In November 2018, the FCA requested data from every firm with permission to advise on defined benefit pension transfers, which provided them with a full picture of the market from 2015. In publishing the data in June 2019, the FCA raised concerns that firms are recommending that large numbers of consumers transfer out of their defined benefit (DB) pension schemes despite the FCA’s stance that transfers are likely to be unsuitable for most clients. Although the data are not an assessment of the suitability of advice, they give the FCA the information they need to focus their supervision work. The FCA will be writing to all firms and started visits to the most active firms in the market, with a view to complete a full assessment of the firms’ approach to DB advice, focusing on key aspects of firms’ business models and processes which could give rise to harm. The FCA will not hesitate to use their investigatory powers where they identify evidence of misconduct which could have caused harm to consumers.

Soft Drinks: Taxation

Clive Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the projected revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry levy is for financial year 2019-20.

Robert Jenrick: The current forecast for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy is published in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2019 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The 2019-20 figure is currently estimated at £344m. The publication tables can be found on the OBR’s website: https://cdn.obr.uk/Fiscal_charts_and_tables_March_2019.xlsx

Infrastructure

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to publish its Infrastructure Strategy alongside the Spending Review.

Robert Jenrick: The government welcomed the publication of the National Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) last year. As announced at Budget 2018 the Government will respond in full to the NIA through a National Infrastructure Strategy. At Spring Statement, the Chancellor confirmed his intention to publish the Strategy later this year, alongside the Spending Review.

Cash Dispensing

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with UK banks on the costs of running ATMs at their branches.

John Glen: The UK has over 60,000 ATMs, almost all connected to the LINK network. These ATMs are owned and operated by banks and building societies (40%), in addition to independent ATM operators (60%). According to the Access to Cash Review, of the estimated £5bn annual cost of the UK’s cash infrastructure, £1bn of this relates to the running and maintenance of ATMs. Regarding specific discussions, Treasury Ministers and Officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.

Insurance Premium Tax

Steve Double: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of exempting telematics from insurance premium tax on (a) reducing the tax burden on motorists, (b) improving road safety and (c) protecting the environment.

John Glen: The government keeps all taxes under review, especially in the context of new technology. There is not clear evidence that an Insurance Premium Tax exemption for telematics-based insurance is the best way to achieve the outcomes mentioned in the question. The government is committed to: reducing the costs on motorists, such as freezing fuel duty for the ninth year in a row; improving road safety, such as making £100 million available from the Safer Roads Fund; and delivering on our ambitious 25 Year Environment Plan.

Tax Avoidance

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the risk of suicide among people subject to the 2019 Loan Charge.

Jesse Norman: The Government published a report on the loan charge in March 2019. The report was required by section 95 of Finance Act 2019, but goes wider than the review set out in legislation, explaining the rationale for the charge and considering its impacts. The report also provides information on how HM Revenue and Customs support those affected by the loan charge, including the introduction of a dedicated helpline. The report is available online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-time-limits-and-the-disguised-remuneration-loan-charge

Public Expenditure

Helen Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to launch a three-year spending review before the summer recess; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Departments have been commissioned to carry out the work necessary for a 3-year Spending Review concluding this Autumn. However, it will be for the new Government to decide whether the circumstances make it appropriate to conduct a full 3-year Spending Review, or a single year exercise.

Local Government Finance

Helen Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for financial planning by local authorities of the uncertainty of the timing of the next spending review.

Elizabeth Truss: HM Treasury is working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to support the financial sustainability of local councils, so they can continue to offer a range of vital services to their local authorities. Departments have been commissioned to carry out the work necessary for a 3-year Spending Review concluding this Autumn. However, it will be for the new Government to decide whether the circumstances make it appropriate to conduct a full 3-year Spending Review, or a single year exercise.

Redundancy Pay: Tax Allowances

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake a review of the tax exemption limit for cash redundancy payments; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Government confirmed in Finance (No. 2) Act 2017 that the first £30,000 of all termination payments remain exempt from income tax.The UK has one of the most generous tax exemptions for termination payments in the OECD, and around 80% of the termination awards made each year will remain completely free from income tax. The £30,000 threshold also exceeds the maximum statutory redundancy payment of £15,750. The Government has no plans to change the termination payments tax exempt threshold.

Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Israel) Order 2019

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when negotiations on the Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Israel) Order 2019 began.

Jesse Norman: The Government originally began negotiating the updated treaty in July 2008, with a second round of talks in March 2009. However, those negotiations stalled for a variety of reasons. Discussions about the updated treaty restarted in late 2015, and the Government recommenced formal negotiations in January 2017.

Multinational Companies: Taxation

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2019 to Question 247155 and with reference to the UK's tax treaties with Uruguay, Sweden and Slovenia containing non-discrimination clauses, why those countries are not included in the Government's list of jurisdictions with which the UK has a full tax treaty.

Jesse Norman: Following a recent update to HMRC’s International Manual, which lists the countries with which the UK has a non-discrimination article, these three countries were inadvertently omitted. This was an oversight which has now been corrected. However, the treaties with Uruguay, Sweden and Slovenia have always been available on the gov.uk page that provides the full text of all of the UK’s treaties.

Taxation: Treaties

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax treaties are currently being negotiated.

Jesse Norman: The UK is currently actively negotiating, or will begin the first round of negotiations this year, with 11 jurisdictions. There are a further 13 jurisdictions with which we have begun negotiations but where progress has stalled for a variety of reasons, for example changes of government in the other country. We also continue our work to update the UK’s treaty network to reflect the minimum standards from the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative, which includes working with our treaty partners to introduce the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) to implement tax treaty related measures to prevent BEPS.

Taxation: Treaties

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department are working on tax treaties.

Jesse Norman: The HMRC Tax Treaty Team is responsible for negotiating treaties, as well as providing technical and procedural advice on their implementation. The team is led by an SCS and has one manager, five technical/policy leads responsible for negotiating treaties and providing advice, and 5 support staff. Other officials are also involved in specific issues related to treaties across HMRC, as well as in HM Treasury, the FCO and other government departments.

Economic Crime Strategic Board

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Answer of 27 June 2019 to Question 268541 on Economic Crime Strategic Board, whether the Economic Crime Plan will be published before the House rises on 25 July 2019.

John Glen: The Economic Crime Strategic Board will meet on 10 July 2019 at which it will discuss the draft Economic Crime Plan and a public-private economic crime threat update. The Economic Crime Plan will be published after it has been approved by the Board.

Public Expenditure

Diana Johnson: What estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposals announced by the Prime Minister since 23 May 2019.

Elizabeth Truss: The Prime Minister has made a number of announcements since 23 May, including on modern slavery and mental health. Where announcements have additional costs in 2019/20, they will be funded from existing departmental budgets.

Economic Situation

Rushanara Ali: What recent assessment his Department has made of the short-term economic effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

John Glen: The Government has prepared extensively for a range of Brexit scenarios. But even with these preparations, leaving with “No Deal” would entail significant disruption in the short term. And in the long-term, the government’s analysis shows clearly that regions, nations and sectors of the UK would have lower economic output compared to today’s arrangements.

Economic Growth and Employment

Royston Smith: What fiscal steps he is taking to increase (a) jobs and (b) economic growth.

Robert Jenrick: We have worked hard to build a stronger, fairer economy – dealing with the deficit, helping people into work, and cutting taxes for people, families, and businesses. The economy has grown continuously for the past nine years, employment is currently at a record high, unemployment is currently at the joint lowest rate since 1975, and real wages are rising.

Personal Savings

Sir Desmond Swayne: What steps he is taking to increase incentives for people to save.

John Glen: The Government has introduced a range of measures to support savers.We have increased the amount of money that people can save into their ISAs each year to a record £20,000 and introduced a Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and up to £500 for higher rate taxpayers.Thanks to these measures, over 95% of people with savings income pay no tax on that income. The new Help to Save scheme is supporting working families on low incomes to build up a rainy-day fund by offering a 50% bonus on up to £50 of monthly saving.

Digital Technology

Eddie Hughes: What fiscal steps he is taking to grow the digital economy.

Robert Jenrick: The UK's digital economy is thriving - growing ten times as fast as the wider economy - and we are pursuing a range of measures to reinforce its world-leading position. These include:Implementing a 10-year action plan to unlock over £20 billion to finance growth in innovative firms;Committing a further £7 billion for research and development since 2016, with major investments in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies; andProviding internationally competitive research and development tax reliefs to support investment.We are also embracing the opportunities presented by Distributed Ledger Technologies, including by:Investing over £10 million through Innovate UK and the research councils; andCreating the £20 million GovTech Catalyst Fund, to explore technology-based solutions for public sector challenges.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Television: Licensing

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the BBC on the proposed removal of free television licences for people aged over 75.

Jeremy Wright: Since the BBC took its decision, I have met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and I have asked them to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision.

Social Media: Hate Crime

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle the spread of disinformation and fake news online.

Margot James: Disinformation is one of the harms in scope of the new regulatory framework for online safety, announced in the Online Harms White Paper. Under this framework, companies will be expected to take proactive but proportionate measures to limit the spread of disinformation on their platforms and help their users understand the information they are receiving. The White Paper also sets out our plans to develop an Online Media Literacy Strategy to empower users to manage their online safety and make informed choices about online content. We are currently consulting on the measures proposed in the White Paper, and will provide more detail on our approach to tackling disinformation in the Government response to that consultation, which we intend to publish by the end of the year. We are also considering a wide range of other initiatives to tackle the spread of disinformation and build our population’s resilience. This includes further research to understand the scale, scope and impact of disinformation, as well as continuing work with the tech sector to develop technological responses and strengthen the online environment.

Loneliness: Older People

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle social isolation in older people through the digital sector.

Mims Davies: Government is committed to helping older people acquire basic digital skills as part of its broader strategy to reduce digital exclusion, as outlined in the Digital Strategy. Through its £400,000 Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, the Government is supporting three pilot projects aimed at addressing the digital exclusion of older and disabled people. There is evidence that tackling digital exclusion helps mitigate social isolation; The Future Digital Inclusion Programme, funded by DfE and run by Good Things Foundation, shows that 61% are less lonely and 76% feel more connected following involvement in the programme. Government’s £1million Tech to Connect challenge prize, delivered by Nesta, will fund organisations to tackle social isolation using tech innovation. This will benefit a broad range of groups including older people.

Television: Licensing

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that people over 75 who cannot afford to pay for a TV licence will be able to access democracy and keep informed of current affairs from June 2020.

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that people over 75 who do not use the internet are not digitally excluded and will receive the necessary support to pay for a TV licence from June 2020.

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that people over 75 whose level of income is above the threshold of eligibility for pension credit are able to pay for a TV licence from June 2020.

Jeremy Wright: The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC. In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government and the BBC agreed that responsibility for the concession would transfer to the BBC in June 2020. However, the Government is disappointed with the BBC’s decision as it has been clear that it wants and expects the BBC to continue this concession. Since the BBC took its decision, I have met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and I have asked them to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision.

Television: Licensing

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to assist people over 75 years old with long-term complex illnesses such as dementia pay for a TV licence from June 2020.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance the Government plans to issue to carers that work with over 75 year old people on the requirement to pay for a TV licence from June 2020.

Margot James: The BBC is responsible for the cost and the administration of the over 75 licence fee concession from June 2020. The BBC says that it will work with older peoples groups, charities and voluntary organisations to design a bespoke system to support all those over 75 affected by its decision. As part of this system, the BBC says that its licensing arm, TV Licensing, will make it as easy as possible for carers and family members to act as representatives for pensioners seeking to claim a free TV licence, including those caring for elderly people with complex illnesses like dementia.

Television: Licensing

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the removal of the TV licence concession for the over 75s from June 2020 on the Accommodation for Residential Care licence.

Margot James: The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC. However, the Government has no intention to change the accommodation for residential care licence fee concession. Guidance on the accommodation for residential care licence fee concession can be found on the TV Licensing website: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ78

Television: Licensing

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of the TV licence concession for the over 75s from June 2020 on people with sight impairments.

Margot James: The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC. However, the Government has no intention to change the blind (severely sight impaired) licence fee concession, regardless of the age of the recipient. Guidance on the blind (severely sight impaired) licence fee concession can be found on the TV Licensing website: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/blindseverely-sight-impaired-aud5

House of Commons Commission

Members' Staff: General Practitioners

Frank Field: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether Members' staff can (a) register with and (b) access an on-site medical doctor.

Tom Brake: Holding answer received on 25 June 2019



Members’ staff cannot register with nor access an on-site medical doctor as there are none on-site. There are occupational health physicians who work within the Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing Service (PHWS) via a contract with Guys and St Thomas’ hospital. Managers can refer their staff to PHWS for advice and support if they feel that their health is being affected by their work. Members of Parliament can seek occupational health advice for their staff via the Members HR advisory service.

House of Commons: Security

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, for what reasons security officers in the House of Commons are entitled to a break of two hours and 15 minutes in each eight hour shift; and what assessment the Commission has made of the comparative value for money of such contracts.

Tom Brake: Holding answer received on 25 June 2019



House Staff are paid for working hours only, i.e. 36 hours net per week for full time staff. In accordance to their contracts, full-time staff have a one hour unpaid break each day / shift. The rest of the breaks received by the Security staff, which are over and above their contractual arrangements, are a legacy carried over from the Metropolitan Police working practices since 2016. The House is currently in discussion with the union about the introduction of a new roster and rest breaks.